A Tale of Fantasy
by AlphaBlades
Summary: Different characters, new plot, same great Fantasy. Chap 18 up! Meet the tiny chapter of the bunch.
1. The beginning

Author's Note: Hello all! This is my first story on Fanfic.net. Hoorah! Anyways, this story is semi-original. It has my own cast and my own plot yet still has everything you love about the Final Fantasy Series! Such as Chocobos, Air ships and a guy named Cid!! I also have almost ALL the different classes from the various FF's in here. Ok, I'm done talking, I hope you like the story and I'll be lookin for ya in the reviews. Cy'all!  
  
And excuse it's length, they get longer and better with each passing chapter.  
  
..Oh and before I go, just know that the Chocobos, Air ships and anything else from the games are not mine. I don't own them, they're all the work of the lovely Square Enix(Once called Sqauresoft) Ok, enjoy the story!! **************************************************************************** ***  
  
The sun beams brightly down on a village in the middle of the woods. The streets and houses around were mostly quiet except, or course, the bar at the corner of a dead end street.  
  
"Ok guys, break it up before I knock both you out!" The local bartender shouts at two men who got too caught up in their conversation.  
  
"Hmph. Maybe next time this little idiot shouldn't be eyeing my cards!"  
  
"Hmph! Well maybe next time you won't be so stupid as to just leave them on the table!"  
  
The two men started to fight once again. The bartender grabbed them both by the neck and threw them out of his bar.  
  
"Dontcha be coming back either, or I'll do more then just throw ya out!"  
  
After a while a young man entered the bar. He was tall and lean but that's all one could notice through the flowing, dark cloak he wore. He slowly walked towards the counter, pulling the hood off his head. His hair was as black as his clothes and his face was long and hard. At a first glance you'd swear this child would kill anyone at a moments notice. It was his eyes that told his story. They were brown and dark, the very look of determination flowed deep within them. Yet....Inside those hard-set eyes was the look of compassion, joy, happiness and also.....Something more that couldn't be described. A power that has yet to be unlocked.  
  
"Sorry kid," The bartender said, "but no miners allowed."  
  
The kid laughed and sat at the bar. "That's funny, I thought they stopped putting Neanderthals behind the counter weeks ago."  
  
The bartender laughed and started to clean a glass with his cloth. "So how ya been, Nite?" The man asked, putting away the cup.  
  
"Can't complain." Nite replied. "So, Tonga, what's in stock?"  
  
Tonga was not the man's real name but he was as tall as a mountain and just as wide so people thought Tonga was a fine name for someone of his 'stature.' "Nothin' I can give ya without gettin' hauled off."  
  
Nite sighed and put his hand on his cheek. "Well what can you give me?" He asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
Tonga slapped down a glass full of clear liquid. "Water." He said, seriously at first but started to crack up soon after.  
  
"Oh Tonga, thank you so much! This is exactly what I wanted!" Nite said sarcastically.  
  
"You should count yourself lucky that I don't throw you out for bein' under age." Tonga said, with his rarely used serous voice.  
  
"Yeah sixteen is a horrible age all together." Nite grumbled.  
  
He gulped down some of his water and started asking his main source of information the routine questions.  
  
"So anything new going on in the world today?"  
  
Tonga leaned over the counter to get Nite's full attention. "A whole buncha stuff has been goin' on." He said, preparing for his long list of facts.  
  
"First off, a new string of young bloods just entered into power. The new supreme commander of the military is a man by the name of Vincent. He seems to be a good man, very strong willed, and seems to be a natural at running a group of powerful people." Tonga stopped to check if anyone else was listening in, he didn't care too much for eavesdroppers. When he saw it was clear he went on. "Here's the real kicker though, there's a new person in the seat as Grand Regent!"  
  
"Really?! Wow....So the old man finally kicked it huh?"  
  
"Yep, 'bout a week ago and the oddest thing is that his son took over."  
  
Nite's eyebrows shot up. He never heard of a Regent's son taking over, it was always the next person in line and his son was far from that.  
  
"I'm going to take a wild guess that the council's not too impressed with the change."  
  
"You're darn tootin they're not but there's nothin' they could do, the kid's pop declared in his last Will and Testament that he was to take his place."  
  
Nite leaned back in his chair. He had never heard of such an outrageous proposal before, he also had a feeling it was not going to end well.  
  
"So any guesses on how he died?" Nite continued to ask.  
  
Tonga leaned closer to him so he was absolutely sure that no one except Nite would hear. "There's seems to be more controversy around that then anything. Some people say he died of old age but others think it was the son that killed him."  
  
"So how did he get into the will?"  
  
"Nobody knows, but the new Grand Regent's mouth's keepin' it well under wraps."  
  
The 'mouth' is what people call the Regent's spokesperson.  
  
"So what's his name?" Nite asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.  
  
"First, she's a she not a he and her name is Tina." Said the fountain of knowledge.  
  
"How old is she?" There was clearly a hint of worry Nite's voice.  
  
Tonga smiled. "She's quite young thing, 'round fifteen."  
  
Nite had to take a second to pick up his jaw off the ground. He was trying to shake the crazy idea out of his head, just because two things Tonga said were similar couldn't mean that it was the same person he was thinking of.... Or could it?  
  
"So that's 'bout all I know for now." Tonga chimed in.  
  
"Ok well thank you for your time."  
  
"Oh and Nite, remember! There have been some sightings of strange creatures around here, so be careful!" Tonga yelled to Nite as he got up and headed out the door. 


	2. The fierce Dragoon warrior, Kage

Author's note: Hello again! I read my first chapter again after posting it and saw it wasn't really that exciting and didn't really have anything FF- esk in it. But hey, it's the first chap so it was bound to not be that great. But hey, second chaps up and lookie there, a Dragoon! Yeah! So anyways, I'm done. Enjoy the story!  
  
EDIT!!: Please re-read this chapter. I added a little fight scene starring Kage and Nite. You think this is good then you'll get more of the same when he finally finds Vyse. Oh and I got rid of the P.S. because I needed to use the "***" in the fight. I'm not sure it this takes away the feeling of my original chapter but if this turned out worse, please tell me. Ok, read the killer fight! **************************************************************************** ********  
  
"Now remember Kage," a voice said to the warrior standing in front of it, "It is your duty to make sure that Kedro's dream does not become a reality."  
  
After this was said, the voice dismissed Kage from the room. Kage immediately left and headed to his quarters. Kage was young for a Dragoon, around eighteen, but he was always told that it was your skill, not your age, which determined your strength. He moved a piece of blonde hair out oh his eyes. He opened the door to his room and entered. Kage was built well. Muscle's clearly showing through his common clothes. He was tall but not by a lot and always hade one solid look on his face. The look of determination, honor, so serious and to the point. This was the look of a hardened warrior.  
  
Kage began to strap on his armor. His armor matched his eyes. The sparkling color of jade. After he suited up, he headed to an open window and jumped out. And when a Dragoon jumps you know about it.  
  
He landed and a branch of a tree without a sound. He sprang towards another one. Then another and another after that, He could have kept going if a definite eye-catching sight didn't catch his attention.  
  
He saw a young man no older then sixteen in a black cloak fending off a couple of monsters in the woods. By no means was he in trouble though, in fact, if Kage had blinked he would've missed the whole thing. He saw the kid charge at the first beast and a flash from some kind of object came from his cloak, dropping the beast instantly. Kage couldn't tell what the object was, the person was moving too fast. A second later he was behind the second monster and the same flash came out, but this time the creature fell in two different pieces.  
  
Kage was in awe at what he just saw, a battle that took no more than seconds to finish. This kid could become a powerful ally. He jumped from his perch in the trees and landed next to the boy in black, which Kage will always remember as 'mistake #1.' Before he could speak a word Kage saw the all-too-familiar flash coming his way. He rocketed backwards as far as he could, being fiercely stopped by a tree.  
  
"Who are you?" The young man asked, sounding more like a demand then a question.  
  
"Kage." He replied, just now revealing the spear he had been hiding.  
  
"Heh, nice weapon but the red clashes with your outfit."  
  
Kage scoffed. So he makes jokes, huh.Well let's see if he can laugh after Kage tested him out. He has to make sure his match with those Minions was just dumb-luck.  
  
He looked at the boy. "Fight me." He said calmly.  
  
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"  
  
"I did not stutter. I want to fight you. Now unsheathe your weapon and prepare yourself!"  
  
Kage twirled his spear around and entered his defensive position.  
  
*** Nite shook his head with a smile. "Ok, fine. Let's fight. I'm a feeling a little restless anyways."  
  
Nite stretched his arms and legs and stared at the warrior in front of him, not even motioning to his weapon. The man in green glared at him. Nite wondered what was going through his mind.  
  
*** What is this kid thinking? Not even drawing his weapon. What an amateur. Kage shook his ready and and charged at him, spear pointed at his chest. He closed the gap and trusted his weapon with all his might into the boy in black. Only to find his long spear was imbedded into a tree. Kage pulled and out and twisted around as fast as he could. Just not fast enough. His enemy's foot found a solid spot in Kage's chest, sending him into a tree....For the second time. Kage was now annoyed.  
  
*** Nite smiled. "He's too slow." He thought to himself.  
  
Nite once again stared at his enemy. It was clear by the way he was dressed he was a Dragoon. Nite was ready for any fancy jumping he would do since that's the ONLY thing Dragoon's were good at. Such a lousy warrior.  
  
The dragoon stood up and jumped up, just as Nite expected. He eyed him as his fell back to earth. He landed next to Nite but didn't stay there for long. He jumped back and placed his feet firmly against the side of a tree. Then with a quickness that matched Nite's own. He sprung from it. But it wasn't at Nite. It was towards another tree. He made contact with it and sprung off with the same tree. Nite was trying to keep his eyes on him but he was slowly loosing the sly Dragoon. Maybe They're not as worthless as he thought.  
  
*** Kage Jumped to another tree and took a glance towards the enemy. Perfect! His back was towards him! He put as much energy as possible into his legs, using it to fly like a missile towards the boy. The tree cracked from the force and fell to the ground. Kage raised his spear for the final blow.  
  
Kage's blow hit something but it wasn't flesh. The boy parried the attack and ducked under the still moving Dragoon. Kage felt the hot sting of metal slice cleanly threw his flesh. It sent him off balance and tumble across the ground.  
  
"How..How did you know where I was."  
  
"You may have been silent but the cracking tree was enough to wake the dead."  
  
Kage scowled and stood up. He looked at the boy, only now in a new light. He now looked at him as an ally.  
  
"I would appreciate your assistance on a task that I have been appointed." Kage could tell that he lost him so he tried to dumb it down a bit. "I need your help for something." Now the kid understood.  
  
"What something?"  
  
Kage was at a loss for words. His assignment was so monumental and consisted of so many things that he didn't know where to start.  
  
"We have to stop a bad man from taking over the world." Kage could tell he used the wrong sentence to explain his task. One reason was that his new 'partner' was rolled over, laughing as hard as humanely possible.  
  
After a solid five minutes the kid finally stopped.  
  
"Ah whew, that was funny."  
  
Kage gave him a stern look. "I am not joking."  
  
When the young man saw that he was being very serious he stopped laughing. "Ok then, what must I do?" The boy asked in an equally serious tone. Kage smiled. This alliance may not be as bad as he thought.  
  
"Above all else you must head to the town of Bemic, to the south. There you will meet a man named Vyse. He should be around thirty by now. He also has spiked red hair and dark almost blackish-brown eyes, and he has brown thickly padded gauntlets that rise up to his shoulders and kind of 'bowl' outwards."  
  
While Kage talked he pointed the young lad in the right direction. "And don't' worry about where to find me, he will tell you where I am." The boy nodded his head without question and started to walk off, but not before Kage had a question of his own. "By the way, what's your name?"  
  
The boy grinned and said "Nite" before continuing forward.  
  
Nite reached the town in almost no time, he was very quick when he wanted to be. Upon entering the town he could easily tell what it was. A broken down rest stop for anyone passing though. He also realized that finding this Vyse was going to be harder then he thought. 


	3. The Potential powerhouse, Ked

Author's note: Hello again! Ok, third chapter and now there's more then one new person! Woo! But hey...The little one just ran off without looking twice at Nite. Hmmm, maybe he won't be as important to the story as you thought. Guess you'll just have to read and see! MWUHAHAHAHA! *Coughs*  
  
Ha ha!! Newnessness!!! Read if you want a deeper description of my Black Mage, Ked. **************************************************************************** *********  
  
Nite was in Bemic for no more then a couple moments before a young kid came barreling right into his gut. Before he could react both of them were on the ground.  
  
Nite looked up at him. He was so small, had to be no older then seven or eight. He clothes were torn and dirty, mus be something he wore on a daily basis. He face was also pretty dirty but it wasn't bad. Looked like any other boy's face who would play outside. His black hair seemed to go out every which way and his eyes were a golden brown. They were filled with worry and maybe even fear. Nite felt started to feel sorry for him, anuone who had to live here must not have that great of a life style.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that! Honest! I'm just in a rush that's all!" The young boy screamed, quickly jumping off of Nite and running down an alley behind him.  
  
When Nite got up he was bombarded by a horde of people. "Which way did that destructive little Mage go to this time?! He's going to pay for all of my windows he broke!"  
  
They were all crowding Nite, trying to get an answer out of him. These people must be the reason the kid was so scared. He pointed the opposite way that the child ran and the mob followed his directions. Nite shook his head in disgust. He hated this town more and more.  
  
As he started to walk he stepped on something lumpy. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a pouch of some kind and not a very good one at that. He decided to open it to see what was inside. To his surprise it was full of gil! That little boy must have dropped it when they smashed into each other. Nite told himself that he would give the little kid's money back if he ever 'ran' into him again, but until then it would stay safely with him.  
  
*** When the young boy entered the ally he expected his chasers to be right behind him but they were no where in sight. He stopped to catch his breath. He was never great at running for any period of time and now was no exception. He started walking through the ally to his grandfather's house, he knew that he would be safe, no one ever seemed to look for him there.  
  
It took the little child quite a while to weave through the maze of allies that lead to his grandfather's house, but he finally made it. "Hiya Gramps!" The child shouted, busting into the house. "Ked! It's about time you came home! I was getting worried!" His grandfather shouted back. Ked ran over and hugged him as hard as he could. "Hey kiddo! Easy now! Don't want to hurt an old man, do ya?" He choked out.  
  
Ked let go and instantly started to tell his grandfather about his day. He told him about how he accidentally broke all of Ms. Michodie's windows with a thunder spell that was a bit stronger then he had hoped for. He told him about how they chased him out of the store and down the street where he bumped into a strange man dressed in black. He ended the story by telling him how he ran into the ally and lost his chasers.  
  
"Well you had some day there, Ked!" His grandfather pointed out. Ked stood up tall, and beamed with pride, completely forgetting why he went out in the first place. He slapped his hand on his forehead. "Oh man! I completely forgot to go the market!" Ked told his grandfather. Before he was able to say anything in response he was already out the door.  
  
Ked was running down the street as fast as he could when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. "Where's my gil?" He said aloud, putting his hand into the pocket that he thought it was in. There was a large hole in the bottom of it. Ked frantically searched the ground around him but found nothing. He let out a long sigh and looked down the street. His search for the proverbial needle in a haystack was about to begin. 


	4. The Stern Holy Knight, Bridget and the o...

Author's note: Hello again! So chap 3 is revamped and chap 4 and 5 are here as well. SWEEEET! Anyways, if you look at chapter 3 you'll see I took Tera and Bridget's entrance out of it. After I got down re-doing 3 their opening just seemed to be a sore thumb so I gave them their OWN chapter! Woo!! This chap is just kind of weak and only here to move the story along but oh man..Wait until you get to chap 5. A great fight between Nite and Vyse. I'll talk more about that in my next note. So sit back and enjoy the story!!! **************************************************************************** *******  
  
"This place is far too undignified for someone of your stature, Milady." A tall woman with brown hair and blue eyes said to the young lady standing next to her. The woman lightly sighed and looked at her.  
  
She seemed so innocent from a moment's glance. Bright blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. Her build was normal for a slightly tall, sixteen- year old. But it's when you see the look on her face that you know there's something deeper then just innocence. She was a girl who craved excitement, exploring and just being outside, away from her strenuous life. The woman sighed intently. Was must she always be the one to keep her in line?  
  
"Oh, come now Bridget, this place is fine and better yet no one here will ever notice me." The young lady said back.  
  
"Yes, indeed there are millions of girls from royalty around this place." Bridget said sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah and I bet all of them have a witty bodyguard following them around too." She said back with a laugh.  
  
Bridget twisted her face into a look of concern. "Well at least go find something to wear that is a little more low key, Milady." Bridget said, looking at the girl's fancy clothes.  
  
"Fine I will but you better change too."  
  
Bridget looked down at herself; she was still wearing her full, golden body armor.  
  
"Very well then," Bridget calmly said, "let us stop in here, this looks like a good place." She added, looking inside the nearest clothing store.  
  
"Ok but remember one thing." The young lady said to her bodyguard.  
  
"What Milady?"  
  
The girl smiled and pointed at her. "That. You have to call me by my real name now."  
  
Bridget crossed her arms. "Very well then..." She stopped for a moment so she knew that she would say the right thing. "Tera." She finished, then walked into the store.  
  
*** Tera followed her guardian into the store and looked at all the odds and ends lying around. Without a moments hesitation she walked over to a row of clothes to find something she liked. She noticed Bridget standing by the wall trying to blend in but having little success. Tera walked over to her and dragged her to the clothes rack.  
  
"Now pick something." She commanded with a smile. Bridget hesitated and tried to walk away but Tera thought differently.  
  
"Oh no you don't. If you won't pick something for yourself then I will." She said, with a bigger smile then before. Bridget sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Tera laughed, picked something out of the rack, and handed it to her. Bridget groaned and went into one of the rooms behind her.  
  
Tera grabbed something for herself from the pile and went into the room next to Bridget's to try it on. The outfit looked pretty nice, White shirt with beige pants, not too bad. Tera stepped out of the room and sat on a chair, she knew it would take Bridget twice as long to get dressed because of all that armor that she had to peel off.  
  
Tera glanced out the window and saw a little boy running up to people and asking for something. She continued to watch and saw him trip on his feet and fall into some mud. It was around this time that she started to feel sorry for him. She ran out of the store and helped the boy to his feet.  
  
"Are you ok?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine but I lost my money. It's in a little brown pouch, have you seen it?" The boy asked, with a tone of worry.  
  
Tera shook her head and the boy sighed.  
  
"Hey how about I get you a new pair of clothes so you don't have to wear these." Tera said to him, trying to cheer him up.  
  
He quickly accepted her offer, shooting up off the ground and wiping the mud from his raggedy clothes.  
  
"Oh, by the way, my names Ked. What's yours?"  
  
"Tera. Nice to meet you Ked."  
  
Ked beamed a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Tera!"  
  
They walked back into the store and Ked started to run around, looking for the best outfit he could find. Tera knocked on Bridget's door.  
  
"How are you doing in there?" She asked getting a loud grumble for a response. She laughed and looked around for Ked, she saw him sneak into one of the rooms with a handful of clothes.  
  
Five minutes had passed since Ked went into the room and she still hadn't seen one glimpse of him, but she did see what Bridget had on. Bridget walked out, arms still crossed and asked what Tera thought of it. The outfit, if you could call it that, consisted of a large, bright pink shirt and very large blue pants. Tera held in the laugh that was aching to be let out But she couldn't hold it forever and hit the floor holding her sides, laughing her head off.  
  
She stopped laughing for a short moment and looked at Bridget. You could really see all of her features since she didn't have her armor on. Her dark black hair fell in a straitened pattern. Her normally stern blue eyes were softened and warm. Her normal to-the-point expression was replaced by a lively smile. Tera grinned. For once Bridget looked less like a solder and more..Human. Bridget tried to hide her smile with an insulted frown and stomped back into the room.  
  
Tera wiped a tear from her eye. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time. She sat back down and waited for Ked to come out. Suddenly he exploded out of the room.  
  
"Ta da!" He screamed, twirling around so that Tera could get a good look at him. She was impressed with what he found. A decorated black shirt with black pants and a long, brightly decorated black cape with the initials 'B.M.' in bright gold letters on the back.  
  
"B.M.? What does that stand for?"  
  
"Black mage." Ked responded simply.  
  
Black mage? This little boy was a Black mage? Tera thought that this might be a blessing in disguise.  
  
"Hey Ked, how would you like to go on a little trip with me?"  
  
Ked started to jump up and down. He explained to her that he had never taken a single step out of this place, let alone go on a trip somewhere.  
  
"I gotta tell my grandpa first, though." He added, running out the door pulling Tera close behind. 


	5. The indestructible Monk, Vyse VS Nite A ...

Author's note: Hello again! Ok, Got some stuff to say. First off I put chap 4 and 5 up at once because it took my sooo long to update and I KNOW how heart-breaking that was for you all. ;p Anyways, This chap is SOLEY based on Nite and Vyse's fight. I wrote it in Microsoft Word(If you don't have this GET IT. It's superb) and it was four and a half pages long! This is my longest chapters to date!! Good thing it's all fighting and not some boring talking crap. But ohhh doggie, you all should be thanking me for making it this long. When I first wrote this thing out it was one paragraph long. ONE! UNO!!! One paragraph to four pages, I was sure pleased in the end.  
  
Oh and by the way. I'm super uber busy with school and chores and what-not and in my free time I'm working on all my stories. Mainly this one and another fanfic I'm writing which takes place in the Outlaw Star universe. It's semi-original but not as much as this one, it still has the main characters in it..For a while anyways. (Make sure you to check this out too ;p)  
  
Ok, that's all from me. Oh and I try not to do this because I feel stupid asking people to review my stuff, but if you're going to say ANYTHING about my story say it about this chapter. It's my first big fight-scene and I put a lot into it. I hope you all enjoy!! **************************************************************************** * Nite was walking around this stupid town for what he thought was an eternity. He decided to sit down and try to get his barring .  
  
Nite was sitting for no more then a couple of seconds before a very tall woman with oddly glowing blue eyes and black hair walked up to him. "Excuse me young sir, but by any chance would you have seen a young lady about your age with blonde hair and green eyes?" Nite shook his head. The women groaned while running her fingers through her hair.  
  
She thanked him for his time and left. Nite looked back at the women's sack that she was carrying. There was a white flowing cape sticking out of it and Nite saw what might be some type of cross printed on it. Nite wondered why a Holy Knight would be around these parts. He shook the thought out of his mind, stood up, and started to look for his mystery man once again.  
  
Nite was beginning to think that Kage had him on a wild goose chase...Yet something caught his attention that quickly changed his mind. He walked up to the group of people surrounding a man that fit Vyse's description to the letter, now all he had to do is get that info Kage was talking about.  
  
*** "Ok then! Who shall be my next opponent!" Vyse shouted at the group around him.  
  
Everyone was silent and that's just how Vyse liked it, being able to strike fear into the people around him. He started to laugh up at the sky but was interrupted by a young man's voice.  
  
"I will fight you." The young man in a black cloak said from the crowd.  
  
Vyse smiled. "You're kidding. You're just a kid." He said with another laugh.  
  
"I am not kidding but I do have a deal for you. You have some information that I need, now normally I would just ask you for it but walking around this boring place has made me restless and since you're looking for a fight I thought that it would work out perfectly." The boy he replied with the most serious of tones, walking towards him. Vyse didn't know what information he was talking about but if this kid wanted his butt handed to him Vyse was happy to oblige.  
  
"So what's your name, kid?" Vyse asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"Nite."  
  
"Well all right Nite, if you win the fight then I'll give you that info you need," Vyse stopped and looked at Nite's waist, "but if I win then I get that pretty little sword of yours. Agreed?"  
  
Nite smiled. "Agreed."  
  
Vyse started to crack his knuckles. "Now I hope you know that I'm not gonna go easy on ya just 'cause you're a kid." Vyse warned.  
  
Nite nodded his head and said. "I know."  
  
Vyse was charging at him the minute Nite said 'I know'. He wrenched his fist back and slammed it into Nite's face, sending him right into the crowd of people behind him. Vyse crossed his arms and sighed. He thought that with all the talking that this kid was doing he would be able to at least withstand one punch.  
  
He was about to walk away but was stopped by Nite's hand. He grabbed Vyse's foot and twirled it around allowing enough momentum for Nite to stand and for him to fall. Vyse bolted off of the ground and swung at Nite. He ducked the fist and slammed his own into Vyse's stomach. The hit surprised Vyse more then it hurt him...But not a lot more. Vyse forced himself not to grab his stomach, which would show just how much pain he was in.  
  
Vyse stepped back a bit to re-examine the child and suddenly it hit him. This was the person that Kage was talking about! He remember hearing about their little skirmish in the forest and how this punk kid took a good chunk out of his stomach. Vyse thought about calling the match a draw right then and just give the info to Nite, but how much fun would that be?  
  
Vyse put up his fists. "Ok Nite, I'm done playing with you. I have a very powerful energy in me. I have perfected my body into a weapon. Maybe if you use that shiny sword you might stand a chance....But a fist fight. Don't make me laugh, kid."  
  
Nite grinned. "Good. I was hoping this wouldn't be an easy fight. I told you already. I need a challenge."  
  
They had a silent stand off for a small while, but finally Vyse became annoyed with this and went in for an attack.  
  
He rocketed his hand right at Nite's head. He jerked to the left, spinning at the same time, rising his left leg for a roundhouse. Vyse bent back and avoided the attack. He stood back up and wacked Nite in the head with his right hand. Nite stumbled but regained his footing and spun around. Vyse was already in his face and plowed Nite to the ground. There was a loud "ohhhhh" from the crowd when he knocked him down.  
  
Nite slowly got to his feet and raised his hand to his nose. There was blood on his fingers. Nite laughed.  
  
"Well! I see you're still holding back, Vyse. If you weren't pulling your punches. I'd still be on the ground."  
  
Vyse glared at him. Nite was just begging him to show his true power. Fine Vyse'll just have to bring it all out for Nite....Hopefully Kage doesn't get mad at him for killing this kid.  
  
"Alright! Fine! Let's see how you handle this!" Vyse yelled, raising his hands in the air and grabbing them, forming a ball with his fists. He started to tighten his fists together, causing a small glow to come from them.  
  
Nite looked on confused at first but quickly caught on. "Oh crap, he's a Monk." Nite thought as he watched Vyse perform his attack.  
  
Vyse smashed his hands into the ground, letting the energy he had been collecting in his fists flow through the earth. The energy created a large ripple and made everyone around fall to their feet. Everyone but Nite.  
  
Nite saw the ripple coming and barely managed to jump over it. This unfortunately left him wide open for Vyse's next attack. Vyse came run up to the, now still in the air, Nite and belted him right in the stomach. He must have saved some of that energy he collected because the hit sent Nite well up into the air.  
  
Vyse put his right arm up to his side and started to charge more energy. He quickly got what he needed and waited for Nite's body to fall back down to earth. Nite was falling all right but he saw what Vyse was doing while he waited for him to fall. He straightened out his body so he came right at Vyse like an arrow. Vyse grinned at the clean target Nite made. He shot his right fist up and a wave of clear energy came from it.  
  
Nite curved his body as far as he could to dodge it. He just was able to make it past but he could still feel the force of the blow shoving up against his side. Nite tried to regain his arrow-like posture in the air, but wasn't able to. Nite put his hands out towards his adversary and braced for impact. He caught Vyse's head with his hands and spring-boarded to the ground. Vyse started to fall to his knees when Nite jumped off, but he quickly caught himself and spun around towards Nite, releasing the last bit of stored up energy. Nite hit the ground and faced Vyse, He saw another wave of energy coming towards him. Without thinking Nite took out his sword, which was already glowing with a black aura, and sliced at the wave heading his way. The aura from his blade projected out and collided with the wave, canceling each other out. Nite made a dash at Vyse, sword still in hand. He swung at Vyse scratching him across his chest. Vyse grabbed Nite's left hand that was carrying the weapon and twisted it around so the arm was tied up behind his back. Nite struggled to free himself, but couldn't.  
  
"Ok! The fight is over Nite! You used your weapon!" Vyse said to Nite.  
  
Nite laughed. "You never said I couldn't." He stated, twisting his already bent arm around. A loud "pop" came from his shoulder and again the crowed went "ohhh." Nite switched his sword to his right hand and again attacked Vyse. "This kid is insane!" Vyse thought to himself as he dodged another of Nite's attacks.  
  
Nite once again went in for a frontal attack. He was like some rabid dog that really wanted to bite you. Vyse saw him attack, but this time Vyse went all out. He focused on Nite's stomach as his main target and when he came close, Vyse nailed him...Over and over again. Vyse's hands were moving in blurs. He was getting at least ten hits for every second. He saw Nite's body reacting to the blows bit he figured is was just because he was slamming him so hard. Vyse ended with one last, divesting punch that sent Nite sailing into a wall. Vyse sighed and looked at Nite....But he felt...Almost itchy all over...And his leg stung. He looked down at his leg and gasped.  
  
Nite's sword was firmly planted in his thigh, and that itchy feeling he felt. Those were deep cuts that Nite had given him during his speedy attack. Then it hit him...Nite's body wasn't moving that way because he was being annulated. It was moving that way because Nite was counterattacking every blow!!  
  
"Oh...He's not human..." Vyse said in awe.  
  
He pulled out the sword and stumbled over to Nite. Nite himself was slowly staggered to his feet.  
  
"This is yours." Vyse said, holding out the weapon.  
  
"But, I lost." Nite said, looking down. Vyse laughed feebly.  
  
"No, kid. It was a tie. And because you are the only person who had ever cut me up this bad. I'm calling you the winner."  
  
Nite tried to smile, but his stomach was directing all of his attention to it.  
  
"Don't worry," Vyse told him, "Monks can do more then fight."  
  
Vyse placed his hand on Nite's stomach. For awhile nothing happened, but suddenly Vyse yelled at loud as he could and a bright light came from his body. It happened so fast. Both of the fighter's wounds tightened up and closed with force. Their brushes quickly subsided but that's all that happened. Only a light healing spell.  
  
"Chakra." Vyse stated. "A Monk's best friend."  
  
He laughed as he finished his sentence and started to walk away, motioning for Nite to follow him.  
  
"Hold on a sec." Nite took his left arm in his other arm and started moving it around. When he got the arm where he wanted it, he slammed his shoulder into the wall. There was once again a loud pop and yet again the crowd went "Ohhhh!!!" Nite laughed off the pain and walked after Vyse.  
  
Nite followed him into his small cottage. Vyse offered him a seat then he sat in a chair opposite of Nite's.  
  
"So kid what do you need to know."  
  
"Honestly, I don't know. Kage sent me here to help him on a task he was given." Nite admitted. Vyse solemnly nodded his head.  
  
"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that he wants me to take you to him." Vyse said.  
  
Nite shrugged a shoulder. "I thought you were just going to tell me where he was."  
  
Vyse put his hands behind his head. "Well I'll take that one step further. I am going SHOW you where he was...I mean is." Nite circled his finger in the air, showing his fake enthusiasm. " Yeah I'm glad your impressed but we should probably get going before it gets too dark out. Vyse instructed, walking out of his house but stopping suddenly.  
  
"Oh and nice job roughing Kage up bit don't let it go to his head. Knowing him he wasn't even trying."  
  
"Wasn't even trying? Why not?"  
  
"Ain't that obvious? He was testing you. He didn't want your help if you weren't up to stuff."  
  
After that being said. The two walked out of the cabin. 


	6. Bridget, Tera, and Ked leave for Bemic

Author's note: Hello again! Another day another chapter. I finally have a groove going with all the things I have to do during the day, so updating shouldn't be a big problem.Getting the chapters from my notebook onto the computer is the real challenge. So much to write, so little time. Ah well, haven't hit a speed bump yet! Oh and I liked to thank ChaosRayne and Rsd for there kind words, Thank y'all! ************************************************************************** Bridget noticed it was starting to get dark and she had no idea where Tera ran off to. She was walking through the ally not knowing where she was at all. She turned the corner and saw a small beat-up shack dead center in the middle of the ally and decided to see if she could stop in it for a moment's rest. When she knocked on the door an old man came to answer it.  
  
"Another one? My, my Ked your friends are just popping up left and right nowadays." The old man said, leaving the door open and sitting in a chair.  
  
*** Tera smiled slightly and waved at Bridget. Tera and Bridget were good friends but Bridget was also protective so every time she ran away Bridget would always get defensive and ask a thousand questions about where she went and what she did. Luckily this time would be an exception. Bridget quietly sat next Tera on the couch in the room.  
  
"Hello Bridget, I was just talking to Ked's Grandfather about seeing of Ked can come with us." Tera said, forgetting that Bridget never met Ked before.  
  
"Who's Ked?" She asked, looking at Tera then to the old man, then back to Tera.  
  
"Ked is my grandson." The man spoke up. "He is a Black mage and that's why your friend here wants him on your journey."  
  
Tera stood up of the couch before Bridget could respond.  
  
"That is not the only reason!" Tera stopped her sentence short, and Bridget had no idea what she was about to do or say.  
  
Ked's grandfather also stood up but more slowly. "Now you listen to me! Don't you try to act like you're the first one who wanted to the take my grandson on a 'journey' or 'quest'!"  
  
Tera and the old man were staring each other down. Bridget was about to take Tera out of the house before a voice stopped her.  
  
"That's enough!" Ked screamed from behind the stairs. "Stop it you guys! You shouldn't be fighting with each other!"  
  
Ked wasn't at all trying to hide his emotions. He ran down the steps crying his little eyes out, nestling himself in his grandfather's arms. "Tera's not a bad person!" He said through his tears. "She wants to help me to control my powers."  
  
His grandfather turned to Tera. "Is this true? Could you actually help him?"  
  
Tera didn't miss a beat. "Yes I think I can help him."  
  
Bridget looked at the two of them, then at Ked and finally decided to speak. "It's true sir. If there's anyone that can help your grandson. It's Tera."  
  
Tera turned to Bridget with raised eyebrows. Bridget knew that Tera was impressed with what she said, she was never a big talker but anytime she did speak it was always about something important.  
  
Ked's grandfather locked his eyes on Tera. "What proof do you have for me that you can actually help him?"  
  
Well here it was. The question that Tera didn't want to answer, but if it meant that Ked could come with them then she would grin and bare it. "Well basically Ked and I are the same."  
  
*** Bridget saw Tera squint. She knew that Tera never liked telling people about her gifts yet she had a feeling that she was about to spill it.  
  
"Well, Ked is a Black mage and I am White mage and I already have been through the frustration of mastering my arts and I know how hard it is so that is why I think I can help him."  
  
Bridget saw Tera's face blush in embarrassment but noticed a gleeful smile on the old man's face.  
  
"Very well then. He can go with you." The man replied.  
  
Ked jumped up and down with excitement and dragged Tera up to his room to help him pack.  
  
When they reached his room Ked asked why Tera was she was so hesitant about telling his grandfather about her gifts.  
  
"Um....I'll explain that to you another time, Ok?"  
  
Ked softly shook his head in agreement and entered his room.  
  
The old man walked up to Bridget. "I'm guessing you're the voice of authority."  
  
She nodded her head.  
  
"Well could you keep an eye on Ked? I mean he's only seven and he is very impressionable."  
  
Bridget crossed her arms. "Do not worry about it," She said, "I will not let anything happen to either of them."  
  
The man grinned. Ked and Tera came running down that stairs.  
  
"I couldn't find anything to pack," Ked said when he got downstairs, "except this." He added, holding out his hands and showing his grandfather the wooden staff with a small crystal mounted in the middle.  
  
The old man let out a pride-filled sigh and wrapped his arms around his grandson. It took little time for the three of them to get ready and head out the door.  
  
"Are you sure you nice people don't want to stay a little while?" Ked's grandfather asked the group when they reached the door.  
  
"No thank you, your hospitality has been more then enough." Tera responded.  
  
The man solemnly nodded his head then waved goodbye to Ked and soon enough the small group of companions were on their way to the outposts of Bemic. 


	7. Two groups head to one destinationWhat w...

Author's note: Hello again! Wow, gotta lot to say today. First off it's been only two days and I found a hole in my groove. I've been soooooo busy writing my two stories on Fanfic that I don't even READ other people's stuff anymore! Gah! That's so horrible! That's like saying "Oh boy I hope people like all the hard work I put into this even though I don't give a damn about there's." No! No no no! No one should think that! That is baaaaaad! The main point of this thing is not ONLY for people to read your crap but for you to do the same thing, it's common courtesy to read a story and say something good about it. EVERY person on this thing loves to hear people say something nice about their work.  
  
Ok, what else do I have to say...Guess I'm almost done. Oh! I'm also glad to hear that Chaosrayne has accepted by challenge, maybe now I'll put some thought into my story. Heh.  
  
Alright, now I'm really done. Updates will most likely slow down to every OTHER day since I'm working on two stories (Will soon be three.Damn my active imagination) amongst other things. So don't be sad when you don't see my OH so popular FF story pop up everyday. There, NOW I'm done. Enjoy the story!! ************************************************************************** They reached the place were in the town supplies enter and exit.  
  
"Now we have to find someone to take us to our destination." Bridget said, looking at the surrounding wagons. "Ok you two stay here and I will go find us a ride."  
  
"Hey that reminds me," Ked said to Tera, "where are we going?"  
  
Tera playfully placed her hand on his head. "Well where off to Lindinbum to visit my uncle for a while."  
  
Ked's face shined with genuine confusion.  
  
"Then why do you need me?"  
  
"You will see my young mage, you will see."  
  
"Ok guys! I found us a ride!" Bridget said, pointing over to the wagon on the left. "Now the driver said that his wagon only goes from this town of Bemic to the trading post of Tin but we should be able to find another ride to get us from there to Lindinbum."  
  
Tera sighed, she didn't really want to go to Tin. Trading posts were just places that hoodlums enjoyed to hang out at.  
  
W hen they reached the wagon Ked saw the two large yellow birds that pulled it.  
  
"What are those things?" He whispered to Tera, squinting at the birds.  
  
"Those are chocobos."  
  
Ked let out a gasp of awe and like any good seven-year-old, he went up to touch it.  
  
"WARK! Wark! Wark, Wark!" The chocobos barked when Ked got next to them.  
  
"Whoa kid! Don't get too close! These chocobos don't take to kindly to strangers." The driver said, trying to calm the chocobos.  
  
Tera helped Ked into the wagon while Bridget respectfully said sorry to the driver. Finally when everything calmed down the wagon left, heading right for the trading post of Tin.  
  
*** Vyse had two fast chocobos resting in his backyard so he woke them up.  
  
"With these two speedy birds we shouldn't have a problem getting to where we need to go." Vyse said with pride.  
  
Nite scratched his head. "Where exactly are we going?"  
  
"We're supposed to go directly to Lindinbum but we're going to stop at Tin first for a little pit stop."  
  
Nite shook his head. It was going to take forever for him to meet with Kage again. Vyse saw him shake his head in embarrassment and laughed. After getting out the chuckles he kicked his chocobo to get it moving.  
  
"Heh! Ha!" He yelled after hitting it. Nite did the same thing Vyse did and his chocobo was off, chasing after Vyse's.  
  
As soon as he caught up with him Vyse's chocobo stopped. Nite stopped his own bird and asked what was the matter.  
  
"I saw something."  
  
*** Nite looked the same way that Vyse's head was turned. It took no time for Nite to spot the person in the shadows. He almost knocked himself off his chocobo for forgetting about her. Nite sighed, he knew he was in trouble now, he might as well tell Vyse so he would stop worrying.  
  
"I know who it is." Nite said to Vyse.  
  
Vyse turned completely around and stared at him. "Who?"  
  
"My sister." He answered with a sigh.  
  
Vyse looked very confused. "Why do you sound depressed?"  
  
Nite really didn't know how to answer that. One reason was that Vyse just didn't know the relation he had with his sister. She was very protective over him and it didn't help that she didn't trust strangers, so him riding around with Vyse, who looked strange in general, wasn't helping her protective personality.  
  
"Don't worry," Nite said, trying to assure Vyse, "she'll keep her distance until we get to a town."  
  
Vyse got closer to Nite so he would be able to whisper. "What's her deal?" He asked, trying to hide his nervousness but not succeeding.  
  
"She has been a very cautious person ever since she trusted a cunning thief who robbed her for everything she had." Nite said, looking down at his saddle. "So now she has become precautious and will not trust anyone that she does not know."  
  
Vyse shifted his weight to the other side of the bird. "So what does she do to people that she doesn't like?"  
  
Nite grinned. "She will most likely kill them the first chance she gets. Why? Are you afraid?"  
  
Vyse quickly straightened up at the question. "Of course not! Why would I be afraid of a woman?!" Vyse slumped back down to his original position.  
  
"I just wanted to know a little about her," A wide grin moved itself onto Vyse's face, "like what does she look like...You know, just in case she sneaks up on me or something."  
  
Nite looked at Vyse. He didn't know what was going in Vyse's mind but it better not have been what Nite thought he was thinking.  
  
"She is a year younger then me." Nite replied.  
  
Vyse snapped his fingers and quietly whispered. "Nuts, too young."  
  
Nite straitened up. "What did you say?"  
  
"Oh...um I said I guess I have nothing to worry about then...."  
  
Nite laughed, but not at his lousy excuse, more at his sheer stupidity. Just because his sister was fifteen doesn't mean he should take her lightly. Not in the least. 


	8. The cheerful Oracle, KC

Author's note: Hello again! Well it finally caught up with me. All the work I was doing finally hit me like a freight train. Sure, I'll be working on updating my stories as quickly as possible but I just have to stop working on them one after the other. After two days (Saturday and today) Of PURE writing, I'm fried. Oh and because of this if the previous chapter in my FF story was not really up to scale from the rest then it's because I wasn't think normally at the time I looked it over. The solutions easy, just write one story each day BUT that slows updates.Hmmm..Maybe less sleep? Yeah, that might work I mean hey.That's why coffee was made, right?  
  
What else do I have to say..Ah, yes. I suppose I should thank Chaosrayne for thanking me about some type of story I've reviewed a couple times of his on the FF story boards or something like that, I dunno. Or maybe I should be saying you're welcome? Hmmm, well whatever. But hey, maybe you all should check it out and see if it's as good as he's been saying it is..Only after you read MINE of course *Wink wink*  
  
Ok, enough busting on Chaos, I already gave him my round of applause for his latest chapter anyways..What else do I have to say. Oh! You all can still expect my stories to be updated at least every other day. I like to set deadlines for myself so I don't get lazy and not write anything and woo WEE isn't three stories and life's work keeping me busy. Ah, and one more thing. If I don't update in one week or more it's because my brain exploded..  
  
Alright, I'm Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out. **************************************************************************** **  
  
After walking around the stupid trading post for what seemed like ages the little seven-year-old girl decided to take a short break.  
  
"Boy! This place is humungous!" She said allowed to herself.  
  
She was starting to become a little nervous from wondering around a place that she had never been to before but she would have to get used to it. Running away from home was a tough business.  
  
Her 'short' break was starting to drag on a little too long so she decided to start walking around some more. She saw some wagons coming in with travelers getting off. Someone from the crowd caught her attention. A girl joined by a younger boy and a very tall grown up.  
  
The girl looked so familiar to her. She had the exact same color hair and eyes as her and the girl's face almost looked like hers. She had to go introduce herself to them just so her head wouldn't explode from the weirdness.  
  
*** "Well we are here." Bridget told the other two.  
  
She was going to say something else but was stopped by a small child in a very detailed white shirt with light blue cuffs and pants.  
  
"Hey you! Excuse me!" The little girl said, pulling on Tera's sleeve. "Do I know you?"  
  
Bridget looked closely at the little girl. She had the same light blonde hair as Tera and the same clear green eyes. She was so young, probably around Ked's age. A smile was plastered to her face that seemed like it would never come off. She was so cute, Bridget had to smile just watching her.  
  
"No, I don't think so." Tera said, bending down to meet the girl at eye level.  
  
"Oh...Well do you mind if I hang around with you guys for a while?"  
  
Tera was surprised at her request. "Where are your parents?"  
  
She looked down at her feet. "They're..Not here."  
  
"Oh my goodness. Did you lose them?"  
  
"Uh.No, not really," The girl paused, " I'm actually hiding from them. They're supposed to find me. It's a game we play all the time."  
  
Bridget and Tera's eyes met. They were thinking the same thing. This little girl was a run away. They should at least play along and take her with them until they find her parents.  
  
"Oh, um...I guess you can come with us for a while."  
  
"Great!" Oh yeah my name is K.C.!" The girl said, stretching her hands to the sky.  
  
"Well hello K.C. I'm Tera, that's Bridget and he's Ked."  
  
K.C. gave an enthusiastic hello to everyone in the group. It was around this time Bridget used her 'voice of authority.'  
  
"I think we should find a place to rest for the night."  
  
*** Tera turned to her. "I'm going to look around a bit before I turn in."  
  
"Very well, just ask the person at the closest Inn if someone named Bridget rented a room, I'll tell them to save an extra one for you."  
  
Tera turned and walk down the road. Ked and K.C. followed behind her. "Oh hey hey! Can we come too?" K.C. asked, turning her face into the sad look of a puppy dog.  
  
Tera caved to the youngster's big eyes. "Yes, of course you guys can come. Let's go find a place to eat."  
  
After walking around for a couple minutes they stumbled upon a small restaurant. They entered and looked around.  
  
"Oh, more people. Marvelous! We don't get much guests to dine at our restaurant so we're grateful for any new comers." A man said as he directed them to a table.  
  
"So anything you lovely people would like to order?"  
  
K.C. spoke up before the man could even finish. "I want some chicken!!"  
  
The man laughed. "Very well, and you sir?" He said to Ked.  
  
"Uh..I'll have the same."  
  
"Ah, excellent. And finally would you enjoy the same?" He asked, turning to Tera.  
  
"Yes please. That would be fine."  
  
"Good, good. It will be done shortly."  
  
The man trotted off and started to prepare their food. As they waited Ked started to talk to Tera.  
  
"So um..Can you REALLY help me or where you just saying that."  
  
She heisted, but finally spoke up. "Well, I'm not entirely sure if I can. Our magic is from two different spectrums BUT I do know a powerful Sage that would be able to help you. He's been studying Black and White magic for years, he's the one who first taught me."  
  
"You can't help? Then why did you tell my grandfather you could."  
  
Tera had to think about that one. What did she want Ked to come with them? She didn't think about Gettah assisting in his learning until a second ago. Maybe she just wanted to see him get out of the run down town of Bemic. Have some adventure in his life. No, that didn't sound right. Tera was beginning to doubt why this little boy was with her.  
  
The silence was soon cut by K.C. "Man! How long does it take to make food around here?!"  
  
Tera almost fell out of her chair. "K.C.! You should be more polite!  
  
"Pfft, I have to be polite enough at my.." Her voice trailed off, creating more silence.  
  
The food came to the table and they ate in silence. K.C. started to talk again since this CLEARLY was boring her out of her mind.  
  
"So, where are you guys heading to?"  
  
Tera spoke up to answer.  
  
"We're going to Lindinbum to visit someone close to me."  
  
"Ahh...You SURE you want to go there? I heard that place isn't that great."  
  
"Really? I could argue the opposite. King Casin is a great leader. That kingdom would have fallen to pieces without him."  
  
"Hmph..He's not that great.." K.C. mumbled.  
  
The group finished their meal and paid the man who served them.  
  
"Thank you and come again!" He said, watching them walk out.  
  
They eventually found a cozy Inn called The Lazy Bull.  
  
"Bridget must have come here." Tera stated, walking in.  
  
The person at the counter waved them over.  
  
"I was told to watch out for three people who look just like you! Listen, your rooms are up on the second floor. Thank your friend Bridget for saving them."  
  
Tera laughed. "Thank you Miss and don't worry, we'll thank her."  
  
The walked up the stairs and found three empty rooms just for them. K.C. immediately ran into hers and shut the door with a quick "See you tomorrow!" Before it slammed shut. Ked pulled on Tera's sleeve.  
  
"Tera, I just want to say that it doesn't really matter why I'm here. I trust you enough to know that you won't lead me the wrong way. Not only that but I'm finally on my own little adventure, I feel better then any time in my life. Thank you, Tera."  
  
Tera bent down and looked at him. "Ah, wow Ked. I'm glad you trust me so much and don't worry NOTHING bad will happen, you have my word."  
  
"Thanks again, Tera!" He yelled before hugging tightly onto her and running into his own room.  
  
She sighed, maybe having that little boy around wouldn't be as strenuous as she thought. She smiled and walked into her own room, lying down on her bed and falling asleep. 


	9. The protective Samurai, Claire

Author's note: Hello again! Boy howdy don't I have some stuff to say today so sit back and enjoy the insanity. First I might as well say that I dropped one of the three stories I was working on. My AC story is no longer up, which really isn't that bad since I only had one chapter up so no one's going to miss it. The reason I got rid of it is because A) I couldn't think of ANYTHING half way decent plot-wise and B) Thinking about it just kept me from working on this and my OS one. So that's it, I'm down to two stories now, which REALLY helps because now I can work on my FF story one day, update a new chapter then stop for the day. Tomorrow I would do that same thing only for my OS fic. Not only that but this solves sooo many things! I lost some work load AND can still update every other day!! WOO HOO!! AlphaBlade's got his groove back!! Ah-hahahahaha!!!!!!!!  
  
What else do I need to say.Ah, I remember. I've been poking fun at Chaosrayne since the very beginning of this little 'rivalry' but just so it doesn't look like I'm ALWAYS trying to knock him down, I just want to say some beautiful, tear jerking, heart string pulling words here today. (Wow that was odd to say. O_o)  
  
Anyways, Chaos is a good guy who, from I can tell so far, can really roll with the punches. Aside from the he's a really gifted writer. When I first read his FFR story, I thought it was good and all but man oh man when he put the 7th chapter up I was blown away. That had to have been the peak of his potential. It was too amazing for words, and coming from a guy who never stops talking, that's saying a lot. Anyways, I'm glad he's sooo good at this because now he's set a bar that I am SO going to pass. There's no point to writing good stories if someone out there has something better then yours..And man isn't it better. Anyways, here's to Chaos and his talent.  
  
Woo, that was more then I thought I'd say, ah well he deserves it. And Chaos, don't you DARE try and say something as stupid and touching as this, you said thanks, I said thanks. Let's just try to kick each other's Story's ass into the ground now, alright? Anyways, now getting off this waaay too serious note.  
  
I've been trying my hardest to spice up some parts between big events in this plot.Like them getting to Linidbum._ I have never been any good at this filler crap and trying to jab unnecessary points of plot into some scene were there's just two people going from point A to point B is SO annoying, but hey. I'll grin, bear it, and jab it in if it adds at lest SOME tiny points of interesting reading to the dull and boring gaps between the oh so good A and B.  
  
I kind of want to talk about some stuff the group will be doing when they reach this kingdom of Lindinbum but it won't be for a couple chapters and I don't want what I say here to be forgotten when the time comes. So I guess we'll all have to wait for it to come before you can see some true fighting pleasure. Now I better stop talking before this A/N gets longer then the story.  
  
This is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out. **********************************************************************  
  
"Hello Tin!" Vyse shouted when they reached the trading post. "The mighty Vyse has arrived!"  
  
Nite looked at him with a small grin. "You are very egotistical." Nite pointed out. "That is going to get you killed one day." He finished, riding his chocobo to the nearest stable.  
  
"Killed huh? Sorry but my pride won't let it happen." Vyse told Nite while he put the two chocobos in their respected pens.  
  
"It's going to be your 'pride' that does you in. That is your weakness."  
  
Vyse scoffed at Nite's comment.  
  
"Ha! That's a laugh...Weakness." He said, closing the stable doors. "So then what's your weakness, kid?"  
  
"You'll have to find that out on your own."  
  
They both laughed and entered the main part of Tin. After walking around Vyse saw a sign in swinging in front of some kind of building which seemed oddly familiar to Vyse.  
  
"The Lazy Bull?" Vyse said, still looking at the sign. "What kind of name is that?"  
  
Nite shrugged a shoulder and went in. The whole time they were checking into the Inn the old women behind the counter glared at Vyse.  
  
"You know," She finally spoke up, "you look familiar. Do I know you?"  
  
Vyse looked at her, now wide-eyed, appearing as if he realized he made a very big mistake coming in here and nervously shook his head no. She reluctantly gave them the keys to their rooms.  
  
"Ok youngin'. Your room is One Twenty-Four and your friend is One Twenty- Five."  
  
She sneered at Vyse when she handed him the key. After the moment of awkward silence wore off the two headed up to their rooms.  
  
*** As Ked lied in his bed, he tried to remember his parents. His grandfather had told him that his parents left him when he was very young. Actually it was only his father that left, his mother died when he was either one or two. His grandfather didn't know why Ked's father walked but he did know that a very powerful Sage named Gettah trained him. So now maybe if Ked finds this old man, he might just find his father. The thought of hopefully finding his dad brought a warm peace to Ked, with it slowly comforting him to sleep.  
  
*** The next day, Nite awoke to some screams coming from the hallway.  
  
"I knew it was you all along!" Shouted a voice from the down the hall.  
  
Nite was quickly getting dressed when Vyse exploded into his room.  
  
"Um...We have a problem." Vyse told him, pushing his weight against the door.  
  
"Oh Vyse! What did you do?!"  
  
"Well um." He started to say with a fake laugh. "I had a relationship with the Innkeeper's daughter a couple years back, it started getting serious and before I knew it, we were engaged! Now me being a free spirit and all decided to skip out on the whole wedding thin but the Innkeeper didn't like that the idea and now she kinda..." He gulped hard before finishing. "Wants my head."  
  
Nite smacked his hand on his forehead.  
  
"Well we better get out of here then!" He told the outlandish Monk, grabbing his weapon and racing towards the door. As he got closer he heard something smash against it three times. Nite and Vyse looked at each other.  
  
"Oh."  
  
The door smashed open before Vyse could finish.  
  
"There ya are!" The old woman screeched, raising a large Scimitar in her hands and thrusting it down at Vyse before he could even open his mouth and apologize.  
  
Luckily he was able to step out of the way just in time. The bed behind him on the other hand, was cut in two.  
  
"We have to go NOW!" Vyse said, grabbing Nite by the shirt and dragging him out of the room.  
  
Nite could hear her call for reinforcements to catch both scoundrels, Which meant Vyse AND him.  
  
Nite stopped and told Vyse that they should split up and meet somewhere outside, he agreed and ran down the hallway to the right of him, screaming his head off like a maniac.  
  
Nite figured that they might be securing the stairs so his best bet was to jump out a window in one of the rooms. It didn't bother him that the rooms were on the second floor, he had been trained to fall from high distances. Among many other things.  
  
Nite reached for the door closest to him. Locked. He went to the one next to it. Locked. He tried the door next to the second one. Unlocked! He pushed his way in and closed the door, making sure that he locked it. When he turned around he saw, to his surprise, a girl about his age with nice blonde hair and beautiful green eyes.  
  
"Hello." He said to her. "My name is Nite, I'm being chased by some people. Would you mind if I used your window for my escape?" His whole statement took about one second to say.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead." She answered, still confused about what was going on.  
  
Nite didn't take any time to explain, he simply opened the window and jumped out, doing a little roll when he hit the ground.  
  
*** Vyse hid in a small room where they kept the cleaning supplies. He waited until he heard the people go by before running out of the closet. He ran down the stairs weaving around his capturers, unfortunately one of the men chasing him was able to stick his foot out and send the mighty Vyse sprawling down the rest of the stairs.  
  
They easily caught up with him now with one man getting behind Vyse, griping him in a tight sleeper hold. Another man took this opportunity to charge full force at Vyse, locking his sight's on his skull and going for the full knock out. Vyse wasn't about to be beaten by some pitiful Innkeepers. He raised his foot and forced his shoe down the man's throat. The other one let go in slight shock, Vyse grinned and turned to meet him face to face. The man didn't know what to do so he did what came naturally and swung at the Monk. Bad move. Vyse easily blocked the punch and put his own fist right into the man's stomach. As the wind escaped his lungs he fell to the ground, passing right out.  
  
Vyse kept running and finally reached the front door where none other then the old woman was waiting to slice his head off.  
  
He had never harmed a woman before and really didn't want to start now. He stopped, started to go right, but ran left, smashing right through the window next to the door.. The window was a good three feet away from the ground and if his head was any less thick it might have cracked open.  
  
Vyse got up and quickly dusted himself off while running behind some houses. He cut from ally to ally until he finally lost his pursuers. He sat down to catch his breath. This day was just not turning out well.  
  
He got up and started looking for Nite down some side roads of this horrid town. He kept looking over his shoulder, hoping that freaky old hag wasn't still behind him. He put his back up against a building and stared up at the sky. He sighed as he watched some clouds roll by, he used to love this kind of excitement. Running around, escaping the grasp of the bad guys while barely saving his own hide. Memories of him and Kage fighting off hordes of enemies to protect which sometimes was only one person sprouted in his mind. Then he remember something. That's why he kept doing all this. For Kage. They've been partners for God knows how long, if he stopped fighting then who would that pompous Dragoon turn to for help? He laughed and continued walking. His spirits were raised to normal and nothing was bringing them back down.  
  
Unfortunately something did damper his spirits and the something came in the form of a fifteen-year-old girl with one mean temper. Vyse just saw a of something behind him, not enough to fully grab his attention which was sad because if he was more aware then maybe the glimpse wouldn't have manifested into a young women jamming him up against a wall with a sword only inches from his face.  
  
Her blonde hair was tied back into a bun, allowing Vyse to see her cold blue eyes filled with a rage he's never witnessed before. Vyse was amazed that this girl with what seemed like an average build for her age was able to hold him against the wall with such force. The wind lightly blew her long skirt from left to right as she glared at him, unmoving.  
  
She shouted something at Vyse without warning. "Why are you traveling with my brother?!"  
  
Brother? Vyse felt like smacking his forehead but he didn't want to make any sudden moves. This was who Nite was talking about. This was his sister.  
  
"I don't who you're talking about!" Vyse lied.  
  
He shocked himself saying that. Why would he lie about something like this? Maybe it was the sword up his nose...  
  
"Lair!" She said, moving the sword from his nose to his throat.  
  
Vyse's mind was racing a mile a minute now, he had no idea what to do. He knew the girl was Nite's sister but he wasn't sure if she was as 'endearing' as Nite brought her out to be.  
  
"Well aren't you going to say something?!"  
  
Say something? What was there to say! If he told her the truth then she would probably kill him and if he lied again she would most likely kill him. Man how embarrassing! Killed by a chick!  
  
He could tell she was getting more angry..Maybe it was her next statement that tipped him off.  
  
"If you do not speak then you force me to kill you."  
  
Yeah, that seemed like a big hint. "Might as well say something now," Vyse thought to himself, "guess I'm dead either way."  
  
"Ok I have been traveling with your brother but you don't have to be so defensive!" He snapped, caring less about the sword.  
  
"We are not to trust anyone! Every person could be a potential enemy."  
  
Wow, talk about paranoid.  
  
"Look." Vyse said to her. "I'm not an enemy, I'm just taking him to my friend Kage."  
  
This seemed to upset her even more. "What do you think he is!? Just some item you can trade with your friends!"  
  
Vyse groaned at the way this conversation was going.  
  
"Well what do you want me to do?! Just leave?" He asked her.  
  
She smiled and nodded her head. "That is exactly what I want."  
  
She took her sword away from his throat and allowed him to leave, which he gladly accepted. Vyse stood up, scoffed, and walked away. 


	10. Ked and KC explore the town as Nite conf...

Author's note: Hello again! Man oh man, I haven't updated this in what.Three days? Well I have an excuse and it's NOT because of my busy life. My internet connection just decided two days ago to STOP WORKING!! For two days!! Ahhhh!!!!!!!!! Anyways, that's why this and OS wasn't updated BUT I still worked on some chapters so I'm able to post one chapter for each today, I'm thinking this internet thing was a blessing in disguise because I'm usually always on the computer and I wait until like 11:00 to work on these stories, but with no connection I worked on both and got about six or seven nice chapters planed out! Woo hoo! I'm way ahead of schedule now.  
  
Oh and by the way, sorry if the parts with Ked, Bridget, Tera, and K.C. kind of..Well, for lack of a better word. Suck. I just don't know what to do with them in the beginning. Sure they'll play big roles later on but they're doing didly right now. So yeah, I'm sorry for that I've tried to beef their parts up but it just didn't work. So I wish you all to have the patience of a saint and wait for them to meet up with the others, THEN their role will grow. I'm starting to think whoever is with Nite gets a lot of the spotlight...Damn Nite and his coolness.  
  
P.S. I just looked this chapter over and it's very, very short. Since I noticed this please don't point it out, I've already compensated it's length in my next chapter.  
  
Anyways, this is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out. **************************************************************************** ***** Tera sat still, motionless and confused about what just happened. Who was that guy? How was he able to jump out a second story window without getting hurt? WHY would he want to jump out it in the first place? Bridget entered her room and asked if she was ok. Tera nodded her head.  
  
"What's with all the screaming?" Tera asked her when she heard the noise.  
  
"I am not sure but I'm guessing that it is just some guys skipping on their payment."  
  
Tera thought back to the guy who went out her window. It must have been a pretty big payment if he had to drop two stories down. Tera heard Bridget say that she was going to go get the other two and then get some breakfast. Tera told her she would be down in a sec. She walked to the window and looked out.  
  
"Who was he?" She said to herself aloud before finally walking out the door to find Bridget.  
  
*** K.C. sat up in her bed and stretched her hands over her head. She decided to go check on the others and see if they were up yet. She went to Tera's room. She wasn't there. She stopped at Bridget's room. Empty. She knocked on the door to Ked's room and his voice came through telling her to come in. She opened the door and walked in.  
  
"Hello K.C.." Ked politely said.  
  
"Hi!"  
  
"Is there anything you need?"  
  
She shook her head no and said. "Just bored."  
  
Ked went 'ohhhh' and nicely asked her to sit.  
  
"Hey you're very polite. I like that." She told him when she took a seat. Ked started to blush.  
  
"Hey by the way," He started to say, trying to change the subject, "why were you in Tin by yourself?"  
  
K.C. looked at him and said flatly. "I'm running away."  
  
Ked almost fell off the bed when he heard what she said.  
  
"Why?" He asked in pure curiosity.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about it."  
  
The two sat there silently until K.C. finally spoke up.  
  
"Hey, Wanna go do something?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I dunno. Explore."  
  
Ked nodded his head. Exploring didn't sound so bad. Plus it might turn out to be kind of fun.  
  
"Sure." He answered.  
  
The two children leapt off the bed and galloped out the door.  
  
*** "Oh, where did those kids run off to?" Bridget asked herself after thoroughly checking both of their rooms. "They must be out on the town." She added.  
  
Bridget went down the stairs and asked the lady at the counter if she saw any kids walk out of here.  
  
"Yep, two of 'em. Just skipped right out."  
  
Bridget groaned and ran her fingers through her hair when she heard the news. Tera came strolling down the stairs behind her.  
  
"Where's the two little ones?" She asked Bridget.  
  
"Out there." She replied, pointing out the busted window towards the streets.  
  
"Ok, guess they're out sight seeing." Tera said when she saw where she pointed.  
  
Bridget told the women at the counter to tell the kids, if they come back to meet them at the restaurant down the block. The two walked out of the Inn and went to find what they can eat.  
  
*** Nite's sister slowly leaped across the buildings. She finally decided to go back down to the ground and walk about normally. She walked around with her hand on the hilt of her weapon. She searched the streets with her eyes, looking for Nite. She just wanted to find him and leave this accursed place. She crept to the to the chocobo pen, where she new her brother would come for his ride out of here.  
  
*** Nite looked around the town for Vyse. The place was packed with people which was giving him some nice trouble finding the Monk. He gave up on finding Vyse and headed for the chocobo pen. Maybe he would stay there for a couple minutes to see if Vyse would show up. As he walked to the stables he saw, no one else, but Vyse.  
  
"Hey Vyse!" He yelled, trying to draw his attention. Vyse turned to Nite.  
  
"Hey, Nite." He said to him. "I met you sister. Nice girl, real polite." He said with sarcasm oozing from his words.  
  
"She told you to stay away from me, huh?" Nite asked as he walked up to him.  
  
"Yeah, she did. Does she really plan on killing me if we continue our little journey?"  
  
"Yep, she sure is. But don't worry. If I tell her to stop, she'll stop. She may be protective but she also listens. So don't worry about it and let's move on."  
  
Vyse grinned and looked at Nite. "You got a messed up family, Nite. I can't wait until this whole fiasco is over."  
  
Nite laughed. "Yeah well. Everyone has their problems, Vyse. Anyways, let's hurry and get to Lindinbum."  
  
Vyse reluctantly agreed and they both headed off the chocobo stable.  
  
*** Claire waited in hiding, trying to figure out why Nite would be following the person. "Oh Nite," She thought to herself, "now you have gone too far. How could you forget?" She thought back to the promise they made long ago. "Ok Claire fine." Nite's voice echoed in her mind. "I promise, just for you, that I never ask for the help from an outsider from this point on." The promise went through her head for several minutes. It wasn't making her angry that he was following the red headed freak. It was fear. Fear for her brother that something might happen to him. Something he wasn't expecting. She would never be able to live with herself if that ever happened, Claire wouldn't know what to do if what happened to her years ago might happen to Nite.  
  
Her attention soon turned to the two figures coming towards her. One was that man and the other was Nite. She leapt from her hiding place and drew her sword.  
  
"Stop right there!" She shouted, pointing her sword at the man.  
  
He raised his hands and towards to Nite, he quickly spoke of.  
  
"Claire! Enough of this!" Nite shouted at her.  
  
"Silence brother! You know that you are not to be with ruffians like him!" Claire gave an angry glare at the man.  
  
"Claire, if you don't put your weapon away then I will make you."  
  
Claire was stunned at what her own brother had just said. She realized there must be more to this situation then she had previously known, but she was still skeptical, Claire still didn't trust this person..She would just have to once again watch them from afar.  
  
"Very well." Claire said, putting her sword away. "But if anything happens to you, I'm cutting his throat." She added before jumping off out of sight. 


	11. Words to live by

Author's note: Hello again!! Well where have I been, you ask? I have been sick with a capital S.I.C. *Cough weeze sneeze sneeze cough*.K I was healthy enough today to post this new chapter but it's next update may not be for a while. Same goes for my OS story.... I really don't have much to say because I can't really think of anything so I'll just wish everyone else who's sick out there to get better because the flu SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Anyways, I'm Blades "Good reading equals good times." I'm out. **************************************************************************** *********  
  
Vyse's head was swirling. This was the most frustrating thing he had ever done in his life. It took him a second time at seeing it but Vyse noticed something odd about Nite's sister's sword.  
  
"What kinda sword was that?"  
  
"It is a katana, like mine." Nite answered, pulling his own sword out from its sheath.  
  
Nite's sword glistened brightly in the sunlight. Vyse stared in awe at the beauty of it. The long, thin blade, the beautifully decorated circular handle with bright gold lines encasing it.  
  
"Even though they're the same type of sword," Nite said, continuing his explanation. "They look quite different. Her blade is curved, mine is straight, her handle is wide and flat, wrapped in red tape, mine is round with gold lines surrounding it, and so on and so forth." Nite paused for a second and shook his head.  
  
"Actually mine isn't really a katana it's made more in the style of a ninja- to then anything."  
  
Vyse ignored his statement about the ninja-to. He was sticking with the word that he vaguely knew something about and he could have sworn he heard of that sword before.  
  
"Hey aren't katanas made in some far away land and only used by..." Vyse's voice trailed off as he realized exactly what he was staring at.  
  
"You're a Samurai!" He shouted while pointing his finger at Nite. Nite shushed him.  
  
"Shut up Vyse!" He ordered. "I don't like talking about my heritage."  
  
Vyse heard what he said but it didn't really sink in. "And that must mean your sister is one too!" His attitude suddenly went from amazement to shock.  
  
He now knew from what he heard about the Samurai that Nite's sister could have killed him on so many different occasions. Not only did he figure this out but he also knew that Kage had recruited the perfect person for this job. And then like that, it seemed as Vyse had transformed from thirty to three.  
  
"Wow I can't believe you're a Samurai! There are so many questions I need to ask you! There are a lot of rumors that I have to see if are true or not."  
  
Nite shrugged his shoulder. "Ok, what do you need to know?"  
  
Vyse jumped in joy. It tickled Nite pink that someone could be this fascinated in the Samurai.  
  
"Ok first off, let me just ask you the most basic question so I don't seem like an idiot for flipping out like this."  
  
Nite laughed. It was a little too late for that.  
  
Vyse slowly spoke up. "What exactly IS a Samurai?"  
  
Nite almost fell on his face when he heard the question. This guy was all excited over something he didn't even know about?! Well maybe all the rumors clouded the truth so much that he must have gotten confused. Nite finally decided on telling him, just to sort out the facts.  
  
"A Samurai is a warrior with powerful techniques, including their most famous technique. Draw out,"  
  
Vyse 'ooooed' and 'ahhhed' then told him to go on.  
  
"Ok well the Draw out technique is something the Samurai use to release the sprit of their katana. This sprit comes in the form of energy, the amount of power that's in this energy depends on how much power the Samurai is putting out."  
  
"Wait...That's what you used on me in that fight, huh?"  
  
"Yes, that was one of my techniques."  
  
Vyse moved on to some different questions. "What do you mean by 'how much power you put out'?"  
  
Nite thought hard about how to put that differently, he soon found a way.  
  
"Well as a Samurai, or any other fighter for that matter, begins to fight then energy of his own sprit rises. As it increases it helps out the fighter by either raising his physical strength or his awareness or even pumping in more adrenaline. Now unlike most fighters, a Samurai is able to use his own sprit to 'Draw out' the sprit of his weapon."  
  
Vyse smiled with his newfound knowledge. "Oh I get it now! The more you get into the battle the more powerful your attacks are."  
  
Nite was slightly surprised that Vyse understood all that. It amused him that he could talk to someone about what he was without some point of seriousness to it.  
  
"That's right. And the truly amazing thing is that the more damage you receive also increases your power. It's all because of the human's basic will to survive, as you get closer to the point of death your inner strength magnifies a hundred fold. That's why no one has ever seen a Samurai die on the battlefield, because of the huge amount of energy that he has in him was enough to destroy hundreds of miles."  
  
"Wow..." Vyse said in amazement. "All this is wonderful to finally find out but were taking up to much time talking so let me ask you one last thing before we go find Kage." He added.  
  
"Ok. What?"  
  
"Well from what I've heard every katana has a name so does yours and your sister's swords have one?"  
  
Nite nodded his head to the question. "Yes they do. Mine is called Muramasa and hers is called Masamune. And our weapons are different from other Katanas since ours were made not to break under the strain of Draw out. Our swords are also sister swords, which means they were made from the same metal. The metal was enriched with a mystical power which bound the blades together, when one gets close to the other they both start to glow...Which actually helped my to find Claire a long time ago...But I wont get into that..."  
  
Vyse got up and stretched. "Well that was definitely informative but I guess we should go find Kage now."  
  
Nite stopped Vyse before he could walk away. "Wait, hold on. Now I got some questions for you."  
  
Vyse smiled. "Ok. What questions?"  
  
Nite stood up. "Well. What's so special about a Monk? You must have tremendous power too. There are only two people in this world who could've done what you did to me. You and my sister. So tell me. What makes a Monk stand above the rest?"  
  
"Well," He started, "A Monk trains in the basic study of martial arts. They work everyday to perfect their bodies and strengthen the power in their blows. When a Monk has truly perfected himself, he is then ready to learn the Ancient Arts. The Ancient Arts are what you saw me use on you before. It allows the fighter to collect a hidden force within him and to release that force with an awesome power."  
  
Nite interrupted Vyse. "That's using your sprit energy!"  
  
Vyse looked confused. "What?"  
  
"Each man and women holds sprit energy, like I said before, But only a few people can train themselves to use it. This sprit energy also goes by a different name. Mana. Mana can be used in many different ways. Weather it be channeling it into your fists to hit harder, or to use to help tap into the powers of a weapon. Everything like that requires Mana."  
  
Vyse snapped his fingers. "Ohhh! I know what you mean now! I've heard that word when people are talking about Mages. Mages use their Mana to create a large variety of different spells. And not only that, but mages are more in tuned to their supply of Mana then we are, since they use it daily. But I've also heard that Mana becomes stronger with use. Kinda like it's energy is growing so you can use more energy-type attacks more often...I also heard that the more stronger your Mana gets the weaker you get, physically. Guess that's how they round themselves out, also guess that's why mages are so weak in hand to hand combat."  
  
Nite sighed with a smile. "Well that was one fun talk. You want to go find Kage now?"  
  
Vyse laughed then agreeded, both of them hopping on their chocobos and riding away. 


	12. Even one so young can protect what he lo...

EDIT!!!!: Ok, Chaos's one comment about Ked's blow up was all I need to change it. I hate messing up on good battle scenes and I hate it even MORE when I feel like I leave something out.....Ok, so now it's changed. Ah and by the way, I usually don't change plot parts or dialogue or anything like that....Cause....I dunno, I just don't care about them as much. Bad me! Anyways, read it! BTW, I changed this like THREE times.Everytime I finished, I looked at Chaos's stupid review and thought of more to add in. Man, now I'm going to have to go through ALL my battle scenes and add more to them!! Why?! Because they're not good until they're perfect!! Ahhahahah!! ....Yes, I am getting too into this but hey, it just makes the story better to read, no? Ah and BTW I may take a quick skim through all of what I have and maybe add some deepers parts to charatcters of what-not, I dunno, but man! This thing just went up a WHOLE other notch!!  
  
Wow, and to think.It's all because of one thing Chaos said.....See, people!! Reviews are GOOD!! Lol, :p  
  
Author's not: Hello again! Don't quite remember when I last updated this sucka, just know it was long enough, this flu really has knocked me off schedule. I think it's because I keep saying I have a new groove to this thing, Fate seems to want to twist that around for me so.....Note to self: NEVER say "Groove" again.  
  
Ok, anyways......Oh! How do y'all like this chapter? I tried to make it better them most chapters with this characters in it....And hey! At least you got some action in this one!!! So take some time out and drop me a line. Starving writers need reviews, Y'know? Lol, :p  
  
Oh, and just so you all know....K.C. and Ked will NOT(as in NOT EVER!) be a couple. They're just seven! They don't think of those things. They'll just be really good friends...And if you're asking why I said that it's because there's at least ONE person out there thinking it's gonna happen.....Why do you think there's all these legal disclaimers....Ahhhh, now you get it.  
  
Also one last note. If you haven't found out, my good, good rival Chaosrayne had gotten PSO(Phantasy Star Online) for GC(Gamecube....Stupid non-gamer people....) So that's what he hasn't updated in forever! But fear not for he has not given up on you all, he will write again....Probably. Now has he said this in his own story? Maybe, I dunno. Should you care? Maybe, I dunno....MY question is why are you coming HERE to hear about Chaos?! Yeah, exactly.....Ok now ON WITH THE STORY!!!  
  
P.S. Oh and tell me Ked doesn't remind you of Gohan from DBZ.....Go on, tell me.....  
  
This is Blades "Good reading equals good times." I'm out.  
  
**************************************************************************** *********  
  
K.C. walked around with Ked, checking out the sights, chasing birds around, and doing just normal kid stuff.  
  
"So Ked, what do you want to do now?"  
  
Ked looked around. "I dunno, what do you want to do?"  
  
A smile twice the size of K.C.'s head planted itself firmly on her face. "How 'bout...Tag!" She screamed, playfully slapping Ked on the arm.  
  
As soon as she hit him she started running down the street voice blazing, with Ked right behind her. They played Tag for a solid two minutes before the game magically turned itself into Hide and go Seek, and before Ked knew it he was on a mad search for the other mischievous seven-year-old.  
  
*** Ked saw her go hide around some dead-end street so he decided to sneak around the back of the building to surprise her. How surprised K.C. would be when she would see him sneak up from behind her, yet to his own surprise he heard K.C. scream loud enough to break glass. In a flash he was off in the direction of the scream.  
  
It took him seconds to get to her. He didn't know how fast he went and at the moment he didn't care.  
  
"K.C.! Are you Ok? Who are these guys?" He asked, pointing to the men standing over her.  
  
"You never mind!" One of them yelled.  
  
K.C. was sitting on the ground, shaking and crying. Anger started to fill Ked. He couldn't stand watching people get bullied around, even if sometimes he was too afraid himself to stand up to them.  
  
"K.C.!" Ked yelled. "Please stand back!"  
  
K.C. shot up. "No Ked! No fighting!" She turned to the people. "Go away!" She demanded, thrusting her hands forward.  
  
Ked watched to see what she was going to do. He saw her eyes close and her muscles tense. Tiny green balls spun around K.C.'s hands. But as soon as it started it ended in a puff of smoke. Ked wondered if anything was supposed to happen after the puff of smoke but nothing did. The two men were as puzzled as Ked but they quickly snapped out of it and lunged at K.C.  
  
Ked quickly put himself between the attackers and K.C..  
  
"Hey get out of the way kid!" One of them yelled.  
  
"No." Ked told them, his eyes were fierce and determined. Filling every second with courage and defiance.  
  
"What did you just say to us, you little brat?"  
  
"I said no, you won't touch K.C."  
  
The men laughed. "Listen, you're just a kid. You have no right to be telling US what to do. Now MOVE!"  
  
The men became angry but Ked was as calm as ever.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh that's it, let's just move him ourselves!" One man ordered with the rest happily agreeing.  
  
Ked knew that they where going to do something about him then go right after K.C.... He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let something happen to one of his friends. Then, 'it' happened. Ked didn't remember what happened in those couple seconds, he never does, all he ever remembers is getting really mad. Then his brain gets fuzzy and his muscles tense, filling with his magical energy. Next thing he knows, he wakes back up to see the damage that he didn't know he even created.  
  
*** K.C. watched on. The two men were practically right on top of Ked who only seemed to be standing there! She wished so much that she could use her powers to their fullest extent.....But she was afraid and she could never cast when she was scared.  
  
So she kept watching, she watched as the men went to grab for Ked. Watched how intense, unforgiving flames sprouted around him, encircling him. Growing, swirling around like a raging inferno. The fire didn't look natural, it didn't MOVE naturally, it was clearly the start of something massive.  
  
Ked looked just as odd, the calm he had was gone. His anger seemed to rage on as large and as powerful as the fire around him.....No, on second thought his anger WAS the fire around him! A pure manifestation if the fierce, madding power building in him, pulsating through him! His fists clenched, his eyes closed, and his teeth shut so tight, they threatened to break his own jaw.  
  
Even the two men stopped and stared.....Unfortunately for them, their show was much more different then K.C.'s. They saw the anger growing in him, and in this little boy's anger, they saw there own fear. The own fear of what kind of power who would soon unleash on them, they quickly turned and ran. Ked thought other wise, he pointed his hands towards them, the flames around him erupted and covered the two people. On contact, the flames exploded and expanded and ripped through their bodies, causing them to scream in pain....But their screams were only overshadowed be the sounds of the flames. It spread in large streams into all directions. And even then it did not look natural, the fire seemed to have a calm but demanding flow to it and not just some rigged explosion, as other fire spells were famous for. Some of the fearsome flames arched over to a nearby house and set that on fire like a dried up twig, engulfing it and eating away at the wood that built it.  
  
The two men themselves were thrown back and down to the ground. The flames had clearly eaten away much of their skin, leaving little left. K.C. guessed that they either died on impact or....She gulpled.....Burn to death. She shivered as the flames reverted back into Ked's tiny frame.  
  
*** So what happened to Ked every single time before, happened again. When he snapped out of his daze he found the men lying on the ground with burn marks across their bodies. He must have used a Fire spell, and a powerful one at that. When he looked around he saw that his attack had also set one of the houses on fire. He just wished he knew what had happened. He just wanted to know how bad the spell was.....Maybe if he KNEW he could stop it....  
  
Before Ked could stop and see if he could help the men, he was being dragged by K.C. down street and away from the disaster that he had just now caused.  
  
K.C. couldn't believe what she just saw. What in the world was that? One minute Ked was standing there with his hands up and, the next minute a giant wall of fire exploded from him!  
  
They where in so much trouble, she just knew it. How in the world was she going to get out of this one, if only Ked hadn't blown up those people! Now she had to drag his stupid butt out of danger! This sucks!  
  
K.C. dragged Ked out onto the main street and ran to the Inn they were staying at, but three more men came out to stop her.  
  
"Please Miss, we mean you no harm but you must come back with us." One of the men said, slowly walking towards her.  
  
"No!" K.C. screamed. "Don't come any closer!"  
  
They ignored her warning and tried to grab her.  
  
"Ked, do something!" K.C. screamed without thinking about what Ked could actually do.  
  
*** Ked, still in his full out "protection" phase, quickly jumped in front of her and waved his right hand, making a circle in the air, his spell had to be quick since his enemies were right in front of him. He could feel then energy pass through his arm, it pumped through his veins, it felt almost like adrenaline, it was odd. Tiny shocks circled in his palm as the spell grew. Small sparks formed around his fingers. The sparks soon became bigger and suddenly jumped from his hand to the men standing in front of him. All three of them went down instantly. They were unconscious and would wake up in a few hours...Unlike those other people at that house.  
  
"The house!" Ked thought to himself. He turned in the direction of the house. The fire had now crept to the front and even jumped to the other houses next to it.  
  
People were running around in a panicked daze, trying to stop the fire which was now out of control. Amongst the screaming people trying to put out the flames. The two children just stared on as they watched the chaos unfold. Without warning Bridget came by and scooped the two starters of the mayhem into her arms and carried them to a near by carriage, which would take them to Lindinbum...Even in all this confusion.  
  
*** Tera was already waiting patiently in the carriage when Bridget first came in with the children. She was the first one to ask what happened.  
  
"I'm not sure," Ked said, still dazed by the chaos, "but I'll tell you one thing, I am never going exploring again." They all laughed at Ked's declaration. Tera looked out the back of the carriage as it started to roll off. The fire was being subsided, she sighed in relief. It least it was stopping. She rested her head on the back of her seat of listened as the wagon rode across the bumpy road to Lindinbum. 


	13. A missing princess, a troubled Vyse, and...

Author's note: Hello again! Is this thing a day late or not? I don't remember. Christmas had rotted my mind away. Shopping, preparation and the lot. Drives me crazy sometimes. Oh! Good news though, After about a gooooood week and a half or so of slowly basting in my own mucus (Lovely mental image, no?) I am finally over my sickness. Sure the sniffles and stuffed up nose is still there but it's winter. They go hand in hand. Ah and thanks to Sniper Wulf and Chaosrayne for wishing me well, I actually didn't expect anyone to care, it was just another topic among my rants. Anyways thanks for caring you guys!  
  
Ah and for that, anyone who reads this ASIDE from those two should go check out what they're writing. Final Fantasy: The Tale Untold by the Great Sniper Wulf and Final Fantasy Reality by my good rival Chaosrayne. Heh, giving plugs is fun. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!  
  
.....Anyways.....What's this next chapter about? Dunno but it looks good. *Wink wink* Ok, looks like I'm outta things to say. Enjoy the story!  
  
OH! And Christmas is in three days!! Do you have all your shopping done? Well you better!! Anyways, I'm expecting to get a nice bundle of games so don't look for updates of ANY kind for....Uh.....A while. But they WILL happen!!! Maybe......  
  
This is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out. **************************************************************************** ******  
  
Nite sighed. His 'journey' was taking longer then he expected. It was already the middle of the day and all he saw were trees. An endless supply of trees. An endless supply of GREEN trees. Well, only the tops were green the base was brown and rough looking. Nite wondered why bark was so rough. He laughed in spite of himself. Bark and rough, Now he wondered if trees were somehow related to dogs. Just then his eyes widened. Oh man, he was loosing it. If Nite didn't say SOMETHING he would defiantly go insane.  
  
"Ohhhh Vyse, when are we going to get there?" He asked, not hiding his annoyance.  
  
"Well we should be there any minute now." Vyse answered.  
  
*** Vyse stretched and yawned. He wasn't joking around about being there soon, he had traveled to the kingdom many times before and it usually didn't take this long...Maybe he was going too slow, or maybe it was because he was dragging this kid along. He looked over at said kid. He looked quite content with himself as he watched the tree go by. Was he counting them? Vyse didn't know.....Nor did he care at the time being.  
  
Vyse rubbed his eyes to stop them from blurring. When he lowered his hands back down he saw the best sight imaginable. It was one of the towers that were connected to the castle in the kingdom of Lindinbum. Now it really would only take a couple minutes to get there.  
  
"Hey Nite, there it is. The castle of Lindinbum." Vyse said to Nite. They were now close enough to see the entire castle.  
  
"Wow it's so big." Nite said in awe. "I heard that it was the tallest castle in the world but I never expected this." He added, tilting his head back to see the whole thing.  
  
Nite's mind switched to a more important matter. "How are we supposed to find Kage in a huge place like this?"  
  
Vyse just waved his hand and said. "Don't worry about it. He's the one who's gonna find us, not the other way around."  
  
Nite shrugged a shoulder, the started to gaze at the castle some more.  
  
As they were riding, Vyse suddenly heard another chocobo running towards them. He couldn't see it but he could hear it coming closer. Soon enough he saw the yellow bird, with rider, approach them and stop in front of Nite. It was then when Vyse saw the rider.....It was Nite's sister. Vyse sighed at what might happen now.  
  
"Hello brother," She said to Nite, "I have decided to join you on your journey. It was getting some what boring watching you from afar."  
  
Nite smiled. "You know it's about time. I was wondering when you were going to join us." He said, crossing his arms.  
  
Vyse's jaw dropped. "Great now she's on the team...Terrific." He thought to himself.  
  
"Oh by the way," Nite started to say, "this is Vyse. Try to get to know him a little." He added.  
  
Claire stared at Vyse and solemnly nodded.  
  
Vyse thought of asking if Claire could fight but his memories of past experiences with her quickly changed his mind. After the introduction they headed for Lindinbum. This silence was eerie, just having Claire there made him a little more then nervous. But they finally got there and rode to the gate. When they got there they were stopped by a man at he edge of town.  
  
"Sorry," The man said to them, "but no one is allowed in."  
  
Vyse got off his chocobo and walked up to the man. "Why not?" He asked.  
  
"Well the princess is missing and we are not letting any one in out until we find her."  
  
Vyse's eyebrows shot up. "Miss Kathryn is missing?" Vyse asked, almost appalled that this kind of thing could happen.  
  
The man nodded. "Yes, but do not worry she had only been gone for about a day. We should be able to find her in no time at all."  
  
Next thing on Vyse's face to move was his mouth as it hit the ground.  
  
"A day?! She has been missing for a day and you're standing there telling me this like it's the most normal thing in the world?! Why aren't YOU out there helping with the search?!" Vyse screamed in an outrage.  
  
"Please sir, calm down." The man told Vyse, but this only upset him further.  
  
"Calm down?! how do you expect me to calm down when Miss Kathryn is out there by herself?!"  
  
"Sir really. It's ok. She could not have gotted far."  
  
"No, it's not ok! How can you be so calm!!"  
  
"Sir, plea-"  
  
"No! Don't even speak! God!! Some people....."  
  
The man opened his mouth to respond but only a sigh came out, luckily Nite spoke up for him.  
  
"Hey Vyse settle down. Everybody has their job, his happens to be to tell people about the situation. Plus he said that they've got a handle on this so don't get so tense."  
  
Nite's statement shut him up but didn't make him any happier.  
  
"Now if you all would please follow me I will show you to the town where we are sending the others." The man said, directing them to a path on their left.  
  
The three of them were put into a huge line of people that were also entering the town. Vyse sighed. This day was never going to end.  
  
*** When the carriage reached Lindinbum it was already very dark. Ked and K.C. were both sleeping under some sheets that were lying around. To Tera and Bridget's surprise, their carriage was abruptly stopped.  
  
"Sorry," a voice said to the driver, "no one is allowed in at this time."  
  
Tera moved up to the front of the carriage. "Why are we not allowed in?"  
  
The man looked at her and said something like 'not again' before speaking up.  
  
"The princess is missing, but PLEASE don't worry she has not been gone long. We will find her shortly."  
  
Tera was shocked by the news. Her uncle had a daughter? She knew she hadn't been in touch with him for quite a while but she should have heard that he had a daughter!  
  
"If I may ask," Tera said in royal fashion, "what is her name?"  
  
The man straightened up to say the name of her highness. "It is Kathryn Casin, daughter of Arthur Casin, King of Lindinbum."  
  
"Hmmm, ok then. What does she look like? How old is she?"  
  
"She has long, blonde, flowing hair. Crystal green eyes, and from what has been reported, she should be wearing a long yellow dress. She has been seven for approximately two months, five weeks and three days."  
  
Tera nodded in somewhat of a daze from the drawn out answer. She scratched her head. That description almost matched K.C. but she was wearing some white clothed not a yellow dress. Plus she doubted they were one in the same anyways. She looked back at the man.  
  
"Well if I see her I will send her back here right away."  
  
The man smiled, said thank you, and sent them to the line of people waiting to get into the other town. 


	14. Nite’s dream and KC’s identity

Author's note: Hello again! Ok, this note will actually be more related to my STORY then anything. Who woulda thunk it? Anyways, Some good info passes by in this one. I don't want to say anything about it though because you probably have not even read it yet. Just know it involves Nite's dream and K.C.'s identity. Hey, that's a good name for this chapter.  
  
Ok, I'm done. Tell me what you think. More importantly tell me if Nite's dream pulled at you heart even a little! Ah and by the way....Remember all the people Nite asks about in his dream. They'll play an important role....Crap! I have to stop giving away tiny spoilers.....  
  
Anyways, This is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out. **************************************************************************** ****  
  
As Nite slept on the ground, still waiting in that unnecessarily long line, he had a dream...His first dream in a long time. Nite wasn't happy about finally having one because every one of his dreams, for the past eleven years, were the same.  
  
The dream started with him as a little boy, waking up in a room full of thick smoke. It filled his lungs and forced him to cough up what little oxygen he had left. He ran out of his room to find every inch of his house covered in flames. Confusion growing in his mind, he dropped to his knees and started looking for his other family members. He searched for what felt like hours, calling to all of them, no one answered. He fought back his tears and continued his frantic search, with only one thought going over and over in his mind. Please don't let them be dead.  
  
He didn't see it, but felt it. His mother's arm on the floor. He ran his fingers up the arm...It was still connected to the body. Why did he think it would be off in the first place? He pushed the stupid thought out of his head and began shaking his mother.  
  
Nothing happened. She didn't respond, just lied there, limp. Nite called to his mom, tears now rolling down his face.  
  
"Mother! Mother! Wake up! Please wake up! Say something! Anything! Please!"  
  
Still nothing happened. The thought of his mother being dead never crossed his mind. To him she was just sleeping but far from dead.  
  
"Mother! Where is Claire?! Where is Tina?! Mother where are they?! Can't you hear me?! Please say something!"  
  
Again her body lay silent. Motionless. Nite had no choice but to accept the truth. She was dead. She was dead and was never coming back! Why! Why did this have to happen?! Why did his mother have to die?!?! He was so young! How could he live without her....But, there was still the rest of his family he had to search for maybe they were still alive. The HAD to be alive, there was no other way around it. Just then a voice from the other end of the house caught Nite's attention and soothed his crazed mind. He ran over to see who said it. It was his father.  
  
"Father, are you alright?!" Nite asked him.  
  
To his disbelief his father replied in a way he didn't want to hear. "No son....I am not....Alright."  
  
His father's answer was the last thing he needed to know.  
  
"No! Don't say that! You'll be fine! I will get you out of here!"  
  
His father refused. "No....Nite listen...They....Attacked.....For.....Dark Samurai."  
  
Nite was confused. Dark Samurai? Who would attack their house for the arts of the Dark Samurai. No one in his house even knew them. In fact, nobody in his family were Samurai or Ninja.....At least that's what he was told.  
  
"Nite." His father went on. They were.....The Shinobi."  
  
Shinobi? The ancient group of Ninjas who lived in secluded forests? Nite Growled in anger. If there was a band of assassins that would kill his family for no reason, it was them. His cabin was most likely just unlucky enough to be in their path....Yet his father talked about them wanting the arts of the Dark Samurai Nite's father continued talking, taking deep breaths between words.  
  
"Nite...The sword...Take it...Use....It...To find....Claire...It glows when...Close...Go...Fi...n....d..." Nite's father died before finishing his sentence.  
  
Nite reached down and took the sword from his father's waist. The Muramasa. Nite's only hope to find Claire and with that maybe even Tina. His poor sisters were out there somewhere, alone and afraid.  
  
The fire grew stronger around the young boy as he kneeled silently by his father's side. He gripped the sheath of his katana tightly. The Shinobi attacked because they wanted an art not known by his family, well now he was going to find this art and master it then use it against them. This was his vow to his family. This was his words of vengeance.  
  
Then, like it always did at that point, the dream ended and Nite woke up in a cold sweat to a new morning and a new day. He stood up and looked around, quickly wiping a solemn tear from his eye. His vow was almost fulfilled. The art was learned but his search for Tina was not done....And his vengeance on the Shinobi was not completed.  
  
*** Bridget woke up with a slight yawn and looked out the back of the carriage. The sun was just coming over the horizon and everything sparkled in a beautiful gold color. She turned to the opposite direction to see how far the line moved. With a laugh only she could hear, she saw that it had moved quite a ways and they were now third in line.  
  
She decided it would be best not to wake everyone until it was necessary. Soon enough the two wagons ahead disappeared and they were next to enter.  
  
"Wow you folks must be feeling really lucky." The gatekeeper said to the driver.  
  
"Oh yeah? Why's that?" The driver asked in response.  
  
"Well you guys are getting the very last room in the very last Inn in the town. Everyone behind you are sleeping on the ground."  
  
"Yeah well, I'm just dropping off some passengers., I'm not sleeping in this dead-end town."  
  
"Yeah I don't live here either, I was hired by some guys down in Lindinbum to do this. Get twenty Gil for every person I 'help'." The driver laughed and rode to the Inn.  
  
*** Claire sat on one of the two beds in the room and looked at Nite, then to Vyse. Finally they were were out of the line and at the local Inn. Not only that but It had taken Nite the whole time waiting in line, which Claire figured was around ten hours, to finally get Vyse to settle down about the missing princess.  
  
"So what do we do know?" She asked the both of them.  
  
"We wait 'till they let us into Lindinbum." Vyse answered, a hint of anger still in his voice. "And I have no idea how long that will take." He added, looking out the window to the ocean of people that were covering the streets.  
  
"Well I can't sit in here all day," Nite cut in, "I am going to go find something to do." He finished, walking to the door.  
  
"I suppose I will look around too." Claire said, also walking towards the door.  
  
Vyse jumped off the bed. "Hey what about me? The clerk said if we want to keep this room then at least one of us has to be here."  
  
Nite turned to him and grinned. "Guess you can catch up on some sleep." He said, ending with a laugh.  
  
Vyse slumped back on the bed when they left. "Might as well take his advise." He said aloud before laying back and dozing off.  
  
*** It took Tera almost no time to think of a reason to escape the crowed room they were squeezed into. "I'm going to go find something for us to eat."  
  
Bridget nodded her head in agreement. "Try not to get lost in the crowd." She told her.  
  
Tera said ok and left the room. Almost immediately after Tera left K.C. was struck with an idea.  
  
"Hey we should go exploring Ked!" She screamed, leaping off the bed. Ked was about to complain about there being too many people outside but Bridget's voice cut him off.  
  
"Only in the Inn though, It's to crowded outside." She instructed.  
  
"Ok fine..." K.C. sighed while dragging Ked off the bed and down the hallway.  
  
"Thank you!" Ked whispered to Bridget before his head disappeared from view. She laughed and laid down on the bed, hoping to get some rest before they were allowed in Lindinbum.  
  
*** Tera squeezed her way though the crowd in the Inn's lobby. She was cooped up in that room for a good hour and a half, one minute longer and she might have snapped. She eventually located the door to the Inn and nudged herself out. Surprisingly enough, it was less crowded outside then in. She wandered around town looking for any place that sold food.  
  
What she found was more then just a place that sold food, she found the guy who had jumped from her window two days ago, standing right in front of her buying something to eat. She wondered if she should say something to him. Maybe it would be too awkward to just start talking to someone who she saw jump from her window. Plus, what would they even talk about! Hey, I see you didn't hurt yourself falling out the window! Why did she need to come here!  
  
*** Nite paid for his meal then turned around to find a place to sit. When he turned around he saw the girl from the Inn two days ago. Without thinking, he said. "Hey you're the girl from the Inn, thanks for letting me use that window, it helped a lot."  
  
The girl smiled. "You're welcome. By the way...Why did you have to jump out it in the first place?"  
  
"Oh my friend got into some trouble and because I was with him they wanted me too." Nite calmly stated.  
  
The girl crossed her arms. "That's terrible! Just because you were around some delinquent you get in trouble!"  
  
Nite shrugged a shoulder. "If it happens, it happens, so why try to argue with it?"  
  
*** Tera was slightly taken back by his blunt logic, but if it didn't bother him then it shouldn't bother her.  
  
"So..." Tera said, trying to find a different topic to talk about.  
  
"Is Nite you real name?" She asked, remembering what he said back at the Inn.  
  
"Yeah, it is. So what's yours?"  
  
"It's Tera."  
  
Nite crossed his arms the same way Tera did a second ago.  
  
"Tera huh? Sounds familiar."  
  
Tera laughed nervously. "Well it's a very commonly used name." She pointed out, quickly dismissing Nite's curiosity.  
  
"I'm going to find a bench to sit at, would you like to join me?" He asked her.  
  
"Um....Sure I guess so." She replied, following him to the closest bench.  
  
"Do you want any of this?" Nite asked, pointing at his food.  
  
Tera turned it down. She would feel uncomfortable if she ate something he paid for.  
  
"So what brings you to this town?" Nite asked, munching on some of his food.  
  
"Well I was heading for Lindinbum but they stuck me in here."  
  
Nite laughed. "Yeah, me too" Tera smiled. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be to talk to him. He just seemed to have this 'thing' about him. It was odd.  
  
"So why are you here?" She asked.  
  
"Same reason you are," He said, "going to Lindinbum, but ended up here instead."  
  
Tera nodded her head to his answer then asked why he was going to Lindinbum in the first place.  
  
"To meet someone," He replied, "and it's funny because I don't quite know what he wants from me, but at the time he asked me I was bored enough to do anything."  
  
Nite soon finished his meal and stood up.  
  
"It was a pleasure to meet you but I must be going." He said, walking away.  
  
"Hey! Am I going to see you around?" Tera asked, almost surprised by how much she cared. She did just meet him and barely knew him, after all.  
  
Nite wasn't sure why he said what he said but he thought it fit for a perfect ending sentence....And it made him sound more cunning. "If our paths should happen to cross again you will, but until that time has come, fare thee well." And with that, Nite left.  
  
*** Ked and K.C. had been wandering around the Inn forever and both were getting bored.  
  
"What do we do now?" Ked asked K.C., almost falling over from the boredom.  
  
"I dunno." She replied.  
  
K.C. was walking to their room when she saw a very old friend just lying on a bed in one of the rooms to this Inn. Man! What a coincidence!!.  
  
"Hi Vyse! What are you doing here?!" Vyse stared at her dumbfounded. No way the girl in front of him was K.C. Just no WAY!  
  
"What am I doing here?! What are YOU doing here?!" He asked, running out of his room and kneeling next to her.  
  
"Oh C'mon Vyse get up, don't make a scene!"  
  
Vyse stood at her request. "Sorry Milady."  
  
K.C. smacked her forehead. "VYSE!! C'mon! Don't be so formal!"  
  
Ked scratched his head. "What are you guys talking about?" He asked, clearly cofused by what was going on.. Vyse spoke before K.C. could open her mouth, he must inform this boy properly before K.C. could deny it. "She is the princess of Lindinbum, didn't you know?" 


	15. The kingdom grows closer with each passi...

Author's note: Hello again! I am back!! ....Well kinda....I obviously shouldn't have to tell you guys that I received some games for Chirstmas(Which was what...Three weeks ago?) So this goes hand in hand with not updating. I also think this was my longest dry-spell to date. Hmmmm, Maybe I should see if I can top it. Lol.  
  
Anyways, what do I have to talk about today....Oh! I know! More people are actually dropping in and putting a review! Sweeeeet! You know what that means, right? You guys like the story...Come on, you can't hide it anymore!!!  
  
OH! OH, OH, OH, OH, OH!!! I remember something else as well....My first big battle/war/thingie(Not really war but that makes it sound better) is coming up. Ah and from here on out when I talk about really, REALLY big and LOOOOONG fight scenes, I'm going to call them 'epic battles.' Why? Because it sounds cool!!! But here's my dilemma about these epic battles....Like I said, they are really LONG. The one in Lindinbum alone is like a good 4-5+ of my normal chapters (If not longer.) So now I'm wondering if I should just post the whole mutha load or cut it into pieces. If I cut it into pieces you all might lose the essence of the scene and become (Dare I say it?) BORED!!  
  
BUT! If I make it one long thing people with short attention spans will stop reading because of the above said "B" word. BUT!! (Again) If it's as good I've been saying it is, then you SHOULD be able to read the whole thing....AHHH!!! I DON'T KNOW!!!!!  
  
Ok, that's all I really have to say....Oh! I also had an encounter with an old friend which helped to rekindle some of my writing flame. If anyone thought I might have been lacking in this before, just no it's about to get MUCH better. Not only that but I WILL look over all 14 chapters to spruce them up for future readers that haven't gotten to this turning point of the story.  
  
Ok, with that said I really DO have to make this thing better then best and I WILL! Sooner or later I'll get this 'legendary writer' thing down. Heh, when you dream. Dream big.  
  
Oh and one last thing to everyone that reviewed....THANK YOU AND KEEP IT UP!!! To everyone who hasn't.....I'm waiting....Lol. :p  
  
"Good reading equals good times." I'm out.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
The kid stood speechless but Vyse didn't care, all he cared about was getting K.C. back to the castle, that was his goal. His 'mission' if you will. Shouldn't he be a little more mad at her for this? She did run away after all. Without realizing it, his mind jumped to Nite and Kage. He let them slide from memory. This was much more important.  
  
"K.C. I need you to take you back to the castle. You left without notice! You know you shouldn't have done that."  
  
K.C. Crossed her arms and scowled. "No, Vyse! It's boring there!! I always have to act nice and pretty and stuff! It's no fun, no fun at all!!" She emphasized her anger with a stomp on the ground.  
  
Vyse groaned, did she always have to be so stubborn? How in the world was he going to get her back to the castle? He knew K.C. all her life, he should be able to figure out something. That's when an idea hit him. It was dirty, unhanded and above all else a lie but he had no choice.  
  
"Ok, this is how we're going to do this. When I bring you back stay there for a week. I'll talk to your father and try to persuade him into giving you a little slack, you know he'll listen to be above everyone else. Yet if after that week is up you STILL don't like it there then I'll personally help you run away again."  
  
K.C. jumped up and started clapping her hands. "Thank you, Vyse! You're the greatest! I can count on you for ANYTHING!"  
  
Wow that hurt Vyse to hear. He just promised her something that he couldn't fulfill, something he WOULDN'T fulfill. If things went sour he could loose all of K.C.'s trust. She would hate him for not doing what he said he would. But it was for her own good! She couldn't just run off, she had a duty to do and running off wasn't helping! His thoughts were as shallow as his promise. He started to regret saying anything.  
  
K.C. gave up cheering to look as the boy next to her, Vyse almost forgot he was there. Quiet little thing.  
  
"Vyse, could Ked come along? Please? Please, please, please??? He's like my bestest friend ever! I want him to see all my toys. Pleeeaaasssseeee???????"  
  
Vyse waved his hands in his defense. Being pelted by the seven-year-old's question repeatedly was getting too much. Plus how could he saw no to such as face? He sighed, it was going to hurt so much when he would see that cheery smile turn somber because of his stupid promise....  
  
"Ok, ok! I give! He can come. Oh and nice to meet you, Ked." He said as he turned to the boy, extending his hand for a handshake.  
  
Ked accepted his hand and shook it ever so slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you too."  
  
Wow, this kid seemed really polite. He looked like one of those kind, timed people. Vyse just hoped he wouldn't get in any trouble for bringing him along. Guess he would figure it out when he got there, just had to play it by ear.  
  
"Ok guys, it's time to go. Everyone is going loopy looking for you."  
  
"Ok, Vyse. Let's go. Journey time!! Woo yay!! C'mon, Ked!" K.C. grabbed held tightly on Ked's shirt and dragged him out of the room. Vyse shook his head. K.C. was such a mindful little girl. How was he going to live with her hating him? But then again maybe she wouldn't hate him....Maybe she would actually like it at the castle! That's it, that's what he had to do, which was also the impossible. He had to get her to LIKE the kingdom. He once again sighed. What did he get himself into?  
  
~**~  
  
Bridget glanced up from the book she was reading. The book she couldn't live without, the book that gave her, Holy Knights, and every person who believed enough strength to go on. Her Bible.  
  
Tera floated into the room, eyes glazed over and the brightest smile she ever saw.  
  
"So, what did you do in the town?"  
  
Tera flopped down on a bed across from the knight and said. "I met a guy...." She stretched out the last word in her sentence.  
  
"What kind of guy....?" Bridget asked, mocking her girlish tone.  
  
"I nice guy. He was polite, laid back, generous...."  
  
Bridget stopped her before she continued. "Sounds like you really like him."  
  
"Yeah, maybe."  
  
"Do you think you will see him again?"  
  
"I think I might, he said he was going to Lindinbum so we might find him."  
  
"Only if you look...."  
  
"Oh, I will be." Tera laughed lightly then laid back down on the bed. "Wake me if anything happens, ok Bridget?"  
  
"Alright, Tera. Good night." After said, she went back to her book.  
  
~**~  
  
Nite walked into his room and found Claire resting on one of the beds.  
  
"Bored huh?" He asked, her replying with a sigh. "So what have you been up to while I was gone?"  
  
She answered with another sigh. Well guess that was it, Claire was dead to the world. A couple sighs was all he needed to figure out that she wasn't about to talk anytime too soon. He sat on the other bed then fell on his back.  
  
"I wonder where Vyse went." He said aloud, just now noticing his disappearance.  
  
"He wasn't here when I got back."  
  
Nite stared at his sister who just lied there unmoving. "It spoke!" He screamed while playfully chucking a pillow in her direction.  
  
Claire caught it with ease and hurled it back. Nite put his hands up to blocked but the projectile was aimed a little lower so he received a pillow to the stomach.  
  
Nite returned to his original reclining position and stared at the ceiling "So what do we do now? Do we wait for Vyse? He doesn't seem the person to just walk out."  
  
"I'm not sure, but if he does not return before the gates to Lindinbum re- open then we will have to leave without him."  
  
"Yeah, I agree. Vyse was just supported to escort me....Well now us, to Lindinbum. He did his job so his usefulness has expired."  
  
"So you think this person you're meeting will be mad?"  
  
"No, I don't think so."  
  
Claire sat up and inched her back to the wall. "So I guess all we do now is wait."  
  
"For what?"  
  
Claire rested her head on the wall then closed her eyes before calmly saying. "Anything."  
  
~**~  
  
Vyse took K.C. and Ked down the road that led to Lindinbum, it wasn't very far away either. Just about ten minutes give or take. A nice change of pace from his walk with Nite.  
  
"So K.C., where did you meet this new friend of yours?" The monk asked, doing his best to start some small-talk.  
  
"I met him in Tin, along with Tera and Bridget. WHO by the way, are veerrryyy cool."  
  
He smiled at her response. Vyse was glad she wasn't by herself in a place like Tin.  
  
"Hey Vyse, when we get to Lindinbum can we look for them?"  
  
"Sure, I don't see why not. I, myself, would like to thank them for talking care of you."  
  
K.C. screamed in joy, hugging Vyse with all her might. It wasn't long after this small conversation that they reached the gates to the kingdom. They pulled up and were greeted by the local guard.  
  
"Miss Katherine! Thank goodness you have returned! Everyone was getting worried. Your father started pulling his hair out in aggravation!" After said, he kneeled down to his royalty.  
  
"Well maybe if this place wasn't so boring I wouldn't have left!"  
  
The guard looked puzzled at her remark. Vyse cut in before the guard could question the grounds of the statement. "If you excuse us, we'll be heading into the castle."  
  
The guard looked at Vyse. Trying to see if he knew him. It didn't take long for him to remember. Vyse was a very important man in this kingdom....As strange as that may be.  
  
"Oh! You're the chief advisor to the king! It is a great pleasure to meet you, sir. Please go on through."  
  
The guard ignored Ked as he walked by, thought he was just related to Vyse or something.  
  
Ok, they were in. Now they just had to weave through the different divisions of this kingdom and find his highness.  
  
~**~  
  
Nite was getting tired waiting for Vyse to return.....And annoyed. He should've left a note or something, at least. A voice from his open door jolted him from any thought he might have had.  
  
"Do you know how long it took me to track you down? I swear, you people move more then I do."  
  
Nite recognized the voice immediately, so he let his guard back down. Claire on the other hand, did not. Her sword was unsheathed and aimed towards the armor-clad man in the doorway.  
  
"Whoa, Claire. It's ok, this is the man I was going to meet. This is Kage."  
  
Claire glared at Kage, who returned her gaze with one of equal tone. After their moment of stares she slowly put her katana away, still not dropping her guard.  
  
Kage turned back to Nite. "I see Vyse didn't accompany you after all."  
  
"No, he did follow us but went off to do something or another and we've been waiting ever since. Well actually we've been waiting for Lindinbum to open up, not necessarily him."  
  
Kage crossed his arms, his face in a look of thought. "Hmmm, well he must already be at the castle. The king is holding a meeting about the search party for Miss Katherine so he would need his chief advisor with him."  
  
"Wow, Vyse is the king's chief advisor? There's something I didn't know."  
  
"You better get used to that. This journey will be filled with things you do not know."  
  
"Nite and I are prepared for anything."  
  
Kage once again turned his attention to the girl in front of him. "Nothing will prepare you for this....Except what I teach to you."  
  
"Your words portray your arrogance. Use them with me again and I will teach you a thing of my own."  
  
Kage grinned as he walked closer to her, arms still crossed. "Is that so....?"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not fight now, alright?"  
  
Kage backed off after Nite intervened. "Very well but first we must head to Lindinbum and get Vyse. If my plan has any chance of success then I must recruit as much force as possible."  
  
"I thought the gates were closed."  
  
"As far as I know, they still are. But I hold high ranks among the king's hierarchy. I will get us in."  
  
Claire turned and mumbled. "Overconfident."  
  
The dragoon ignored her insult and continued his talk with Nite. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah, ready and waiting."  
  
"Very well. Let's go."  
  
Nite pulled on Kage's arm. "Whoa, wait a minute. You forgot to welcome our new member."  
  
He cocked an eyebrow. "Who?"  
  
"My sister. Claire."  
  
Kage scowled. "Fine, she can come. But don't let your personal connection to her distract you from my orders. Understood?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Understood. Now let's just get out of here, this place is too crowded."  
  
Kage nodded in agree and walked out the door, followed by the two younger siblings. Now not only did he have to take down such a great threat but baby sitting has been added to his list. Splendid.... 


	16. Father and daughter reunited

Author's note: Hello my adoring fans!! It is I, Alphablades bringing you another fine, fine chapter.  
  
Ok, so this is how I'm going to work my epic battles. I'm going to break them down into sections but I'm going to write the whole block of it on my PC, so I can C&P each section into it's appropriate chapter, which in turn always me to update it everyday instead of every other day. Upon doing this I can also update my OS story since I'm only C&Ping this. The only problem I see is the time it'll take to write the whole thing into my PC. I can't tell if it'll cause delays in updates or not, if I don't get to the battle before the weekend then I should be ok, but anything before, there may be a problem. Ah well, delay=anticipation. So you'll only want it more....Well that or forgot my story all together....  
  
On to other news. .....Chaos! If you can write a review you can write a chapter!! Just work on bits at a time or something!! That'll be quicker then what you're doing now!! Arrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!! Oh and Suikoden 3 is a good game, I liked it. But they're coming out with a forth one sometime soon..or something. They're also coming out with ANOTHER Dragon Warrior!! Hell yeah!! If you haven't played them, you should. I think they're on the eighth installment now. The graphics also took a boost up since it's on the PS2. First DW on the PS2, I think. And yes, I also know about Advent Children. My drooling has yet to stop....  
  
*Clears throat* And now to anyone who needs any and all information for games. Go to the great site of Gamepot.com! For interactive feed from real people about a game you're looking for then head on over to GameFAQ.com! Need a good mag? Try Electronic Gaming Monthly! They're there when you need them! How about a mag just for PS2? Go for Official Playstation Magazine! How about Gamecube? Or Game boy advanced? Well head on over to Nentendo Power! And lastly for all you X-box freaks out there you better head....Uh..Away from me cause I am not an X-box fan!! *Ends selfless plug*  
  
Ooook, here's what I expect to happen. Get hatemail from X-box lovers and flames in the reviews. And maybe even get a-talkin for plugging other sites, I dunno. But oh well.  
  
Ah and to Meidarkreign, who has become better with each passing chapter of her four(4!!) stories. Thank you for being bored enough to actually be interested in the stuff I've been putting up. If only more people were like that. Lol.  
  
So anyways, if anyone's interested check out Mei's stories: The fourteenth Heifon Space Race(Outlaw Star), Final Fantasy: Shadow Knights(Final Fantasy, duh), No One is Perfect(FFX), FFX-3(that's Its actual name. Guess what it's for?) AND check out Chaos's Final Fantasy Reality(if he ever UPDATES!)  
  
Woo, More selfless plugs. Heh, if I do this enough more people will review for me to plug. YEAH!! It all works out in the end....  
  
Why the hell do I do these plugs and whatnot? Well, don't ask me. Not like I know....  
  
As always, this is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Tera repeatedly threw her pillow up into the air to keep the dull boredom from seeping into her mind. Maybe is she thought that she was attacking the boredom with her pillow this would be more fun....Or maybe not...God would the gates just reopen already! She was getting so antsy. She wanted to go and meet her uncle, they has so much to talk about. She wondered if the people in her own kingdom were getting worried. Ugh....Her hair would go gray from stressing over that. All those people...Relying on one person. What a responsibility.  
  
~**~  
  
Bridget heard a knock at the door and prayed that whoever was on the other side wanted her to do something so she could stop counting how many times Tera threw that stupid pillow in the air.  
  
"Hello, I am here to inform you that Lady Katherine has been found and she is safe and sound. You are now allowed back into the kingdom."  
  
"Ah, thanks for that and goodbye."  
  
Bridget shut the door, turning to Tera who was off her bed filled with renewed energy.  
  
"Woo hoo! It's about time! Now I can finally go see my uncle. I have so much things to ask him starting with when exactly did he get a daughter??"  
  
"Yes, I would like to know too. Well should we get going?"  
  
"Yeah! Let's go. Right now."  
  
Tera nudged passed Bridget and walked down the corridor and out of the Inn. As they walked outside they were overcome by the ocean of people heading out of the town. They stepped back into the Inn to get their bearings. How could so many people fit into one place? They would have to wait for the crowd to thin out a bit before leaving. Guess she could pass the time talking to Bridget and the two kids. A flash went off in Tera's head. She looked around. Where were Ked and K.C.?!?!  
  
"Bridget! We lost Ked and K.C! Do you think they're outside!! They're probably lost among those people!"  
  
"Easy now, I told them to stay in the Inn. They shouldn't have just walked out."  
  
The women behind the counter spoke up. "Those kids that were with you left with some guy about fifteen minutes ago. He had red hair, brown slacks and a tan vest. I thought he was just their pop or something."  
  
"What?!" Tera shouted. "They were taken! They're gone, we don't even know where to look! They may be in that huge crown! Bridget what are we going to do?!"  
  
"I'll tell you what you can do." The women again spoke up. "Head on down to the kingdom. I heard the guy talking to the little lass about how he was so upset that she ran away from the castle."  
  
"Ran away from the castle? She lives in Lindinbum? Maybe that person actually was her father.....But Ked's still with them, we should find him and take him with us at least."  
  
Bridget walked up next to Tera. "Yes, if we find him in the kingdom."  
  
"Well we have to! His grandfather put his faith in us. I don't want to be the one to tell him we just lost his only grandfather, do you?"  
  
Bridget sighed. "Very well. We'll keep an eye out for him. For now, we better head over to Lindinbum. It seems that's the place to be at the moment."  
  
Tera nodded and walked out the door, neither of them knowing how a simple visit to the castle will emerge as something much larger.  
  
~**~  
  
When Claire stepped into the town around the castle she didn't expect it to be so large. There were probably thousands of people around her this very moment yet at the same time it wasn't crowded do to the fact that the buildings were so spaced out. This may have been the reason why she didn't feel so defensive around all these people. There were a lot of them but they weren't anywhere near her.  
  
She had heard that there were three districts to the kingdom. Business, theater, and residential. She guessed they were in the business district from all the merchants crawling around. She despised street venders, always trying to get people to buy their stuff....Like Three-hundred gil glass jars....  
  
"Ok," Kage said, "to get to the front of the castle we need to head through the theater district and get to the gate between it and the residential area."  
  
"Alright then lead the way." Nite replied, giving Kage a mocking bow.  
  
Kage 'hmphed' as he walked to the castles gate being followed and Nite and Claire.  
  
~**~  
  
Tera and Bridget arrived in the kingdom and were immediately flagged down by a merchant.  
  
"Hey! Hey you two, come here!"  
  
Tera walked over to see what the man's fuss was about.  
  
"Ahh, you're a very smart lady coming here. Not many come to Ganin but this is only because of their ignorance. They no not of my rare findings. Luckily, you are not diseased by the stupidity flowing through these accursed streets. Now I will sell you my latest special finding."  
  
He ducked under his counter and returned holding a gold feather. "Do you know what this is?"  
  
"Um, a feather....Listen, Ganin. Don't waist my time."  
  
Ganin smiled, He was thinking Tera was perfect bait for selling this thing, even though he himself didn't quite know is this thing was the real deal.  
  
Tera, on the other hand, knew exactly what the feather was but she had to stay calm so this idiot wouldn't overcharge her.  
  
"Waist you're time. Oh no, no. My dear I'm not wasting your time, this feather came from a legendary Gold Chocobo. Feathers from these birds are said to be able to bring back the dead. This is called a Phoenix down."  
  
Ohhh, crap! He did know! Now what was she going to do. Just don't act desperate. That's all she needed to do.  
  
"That's a Phoenix Down? Hmmm, doesn't look like one. Sure it's gold and all but isn't it supposed to have some kind of aura around it?"  
  
"Huh? What aura.....I never heard about that."  
  
"Yeah, aura. THAT'S what brings people back to life. The feather is just a catalyst. That's just gold, but it's a pretty gold. I could put that in a hat. I'll give you fifty gil for it."  
  
The man sighed, Tera's confidence in her words got to him. A nice lie with a cool bluff always worked, yet he was still a merchant. Fifty was just not enough.  
  
"One-fifty." He countered.  
  
"One-hundred." "One-twenty five."  
  
"One-ten."  
  
"One-twenty."  
  
"Ok, deal. That may be a bit pricey for some feather but at least my hat will look REALLY good."  
  
Ganin handed her the feather as Tera gave him the money. She wasn't there for long, she ran as fast as she could to Bridget who had been fending herself off from other merchants.  
  
"Bridget, Bridget, Bridget! I just bought something from this merchant! It was so great! Look!"  
  
Bridget looked at the feather wide-eyed. "This is a..Phoenix Down! You really bought this?! For how much??"  
  
"One-hundred and twenty gil! He was so dense, I told him that it's supposed to have some aura around it and he believed me! Now I can use this to learn my Life Spell!!"  
  
"I'm so happy for you, Tera. You're becoming into a better White Mage everyday."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. Even though my magic does fizz out every now and then."  
  
"Oh that's just because you were under stress."  
  
"Maybe so. Let's just go see my uncle and find Ked."  
  
The two walked up the street and headed towards the residential area.  
  
~**~  
  
"Wow, this place is amazing...." Those were the only words Ked could say as he walked into the castle. He's never been in a place like this before. This had to be the only castle he was going to see from the inside so might as well take in as much as he could.  
  
K.C. saw the awe in Ked's face. She figured this was his first time in anything like this. She turned to him, in complete shock.  
  
"You've never been in a castle before, Ked?! I thought everyone's been inside one at least once!"  
  
Ked started to become embarrassed, he didn't know everyone was in this kind of place all the time. Maybe he didn't really belong in here..Vyse cut in a replied for Ked. "Not everyone can be as lucky as you to live in a fancy place like this."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Vyse sighed. "You'll figure it out when you're older."  
  
K.C. crossed her arms. "Why does everyone say that to me?!"  
  
Ked felt a bit better now knowing that maybe now all people lived like K.C. A voice came form a door to the other end of the hallway.  
  
"Well, well, well. The prodigal daughter has returned!" A man stepped out of the doorway and walked towards Vyse. "And brought back to me by none other then my faithful advisor, Vyse. I am truly blessed."  
  
He hugged Vyse as he got closer then picked up her daughter, resting her in his arms. "This is the second time you have run away, Katherine. Is there something we need to talk about?"  
  
K.C shook her head to the question. "Na, just got bored."  
  
The man let out a long stretched 'ohhh'.  
  
"My king-" Vyse was cut off before he could continue.  
  
"Please, my friend. You have brought my daughter back to me in one piece. Today you are my guest. I refuse to hear formalities come from your lips form here on out. As for today, my humble friend and guest, please do call me Arthur, if I should be so humbled"  
  
Vyse hesitated for a moment. Sure they were somewhat good friends but he always referred to him as 'king' or 'my lord' or something....  
  
"Very well..Arthur."  
  
Arthur laughed at Vyse's hesitation and slapped him on the back for being such a good sport. It was around this point his kind eyes fell on Ked.  
  
"And who are you, my young sir?"  
  
Ked crumpled the bottom of his shirt while he talked, clearly intimidated or shy.  
  
"Ked." He tightened the knots in his shirts.  
  
K.C. took over talking for Ked since he wasn't about to do any himself.  
  
"Yeah dad, Ked's really cool. There were these two guys trying to bring me back, but in an angry way, and Ked stood up for me and shot them with the BIGGEST fireball ever in the existence of anything!" She made the sound of a large explosion at the end of her sentence.  
  
The king looked at the young boy. "That would be you're a Black Mage, correct?"  
  
Ked slightly shook his head as his eyes met the floor. Vyse bent down next to him to try and loosen him up. "Don't be so nervous, Ked. King Arthur is a big fan of Black Mages, there's no reason he wouldn't like you. So try and loosen up. Being tense doesn't solve anything."  
  
Arthur laughed another hardy laugh. "Yes, that's true. I love their ability to control all the elements of the earth. Will them to their own need. Harness the strength of life and use it to do wondrous and powerful things. Truly amazing."  
  
Arthur looked from Ked to K.C. then back to Ked. "Oh Ked, do you know that my Katherine is an Oracle?"  
  
That got Ked's attention. He picked his head up and looked at K.C. "An Oracle? What's that?"  
  
K.C. smiled proudly and said. "It's a mage that can control what people feel."  
  
Ked looked confused so Arthur reiterated. "She means a mage that can control status aliments, like Poison, Stone, Sleep, and Confusion." Arthur stopped and Vyse took it from there.  
  
"Unfortunately, K.C. can't control her own abilities so sometimes her spells don't have full effect, if any at all."  
  
K.C. put one hand on her hip. "Hey, that's not true! I can use my powers! Just not when I'm afraid, that's all!"  
  
Ked stopped tying up his shirt, he seemed to be fitting in more then he thought he would be. "That's the exact opposite of my problem," he started to say, "My spells go out of control when I'm scared. Sometimes they're more powerful then I want them to be."  
  
K.C. smiled as she heard this. "Well I guess we can both be bad mages together!"  
  
A loud laugh came from everyone standing in the hall. It almost seemed like it wouldn't end, everyone also wished it wouldn't, especially Ked. He was finally having the greatest time of his life. 


	17. Let the good times roll

Author's note: Hello again! Another chapter is here, will you love it or hate it? Hmmm, guess we'll never know....Unless you review! *Wink wink, subtle hint, wink*  
  
Anyways, Updates will slow down a bit over the next week. I'm once again revamping all chapters in this story to make them more entertaining to the general public. Why am I always making changes to this, you ask? Well, this story is REALLY old, I started writing it about a year or two ago. Because of this, my writing talents from then are not as good as they are now, so I'm always revising it and molding it into something I would be proud of right now instead of just a year ago. This may also explain why my OS story may be better then this one. Since I'm writing my OS right now, thus it has my full writing talent.  
  
Wow, that sounded really confusing...ah well, this story's more experimental then anything, if I can get this thing to be good, I can do anything. So there you have it, some more delays....Maybe after this I won't need to change it anymore....We'll soon see....  
  
Oh and notice how Lindinbum resembles a certain other kingdom in FFIX? Well that's because I based this off of it. This is just one of many things I took from the games. See? If you read back to some early A/Ns of mine I say that this story will be made up of many things from the games. This being one of them. Some of the things I take will be obvious to point out, some will be small a will take a good memory of all Final Fantasies to figure it out. But the one Final Fantasy I'll be taking the most stuff from is Tactics. I just loved that one soooo much. The job system is what started this whole fic to begin with! Man, I love that job system. V started it, VI polished it and Tactics perfected it.  
  
This chapter is also pretty short. But that's because I wanted to end it as the festival began thus I didn't care how long it was going to be.  
  
Oh and holy fricken CRAP! Thank you Soul_Mage for just that onslaught of reviews (Which are most likely still going on as I post this) Just so you know, Tera won't be that kind of 'protect me' girl. I can't tell you what happens to make her such a big fighter since that'll be a big spoiler....And yes, Dragoons are in Final Fantasy. Kain from FFVI was one. (Was is six or four? I can't remember) Speaking of Kain, that's who Kage is slightly based of....Just like Ked is based off of Vivi WHO WAS THE COOLEST BLACK MAGE EVER!!!  
  
And yeah if you want to put "Good reading equals good times." In your quotes then go for it.  
  
Not a lot to say this time, no plugs, one thanks, and no one page long A/N. I'm trying to keep these short and sweet instead of long and drawn out....Like this one..Crap! Ok, I'm done.  
  
"Good reading equals good times." I'm out.  
  
************************************************************  
  
Nite, Claire, and Kage took almost no time to get to the castle, they were practically next to the gates when they entered the town. Now they were just wondering around looking for Vyse.  
  
Nite heard laughing coming from a door as they walked into one wing of the castle.  
  
Kage, where does this door lead to?"  
  
"The throne room."  
  
Well, Nite pretty much knew where Vyse had to be. In this throne room. He opened the door and saw Vyse, A tall and somewhat round man, and two kids, one of them being the boy who ran into him around three days ago. How odd that he would find him here, maybe he would be able to give the kid his gil back, after all. He felt the outside of his right pocket, it was still there, waiting for it's owner.  
  
"Greetings, my king." Kage said getting onto one knee.  
  
Claire did the same, along with bowing her head down. Kage motioned for Nite to get down next to him. What was he trying to say? What was up with the bowing...?  
  
"Nite, bow before the king!" Kage half whispered half yelled.  
  
Ahh! That's why they were bowing! Crap, Nite felt so dumb. He fell onto one knee and kept his head down, beyond embarrassed now.  
  
The king only laughed at Nite's actions. "Oh, it is so priceless to see people who have never been around royalty before!"  
  
Nite didn't know if that was a compliment of an insult, he took it as a compliment and left that be that.  
  
"I see Miss Katherine has returned safely..." Kage said as his eyes lay upon the rambunctious child. "All thanks should go to Vyse, I suppose."  
  
"Yes, I am truly grateful to have him around. Not only does he help me to understand what the heck I'm doing but he finds my child, to boot!" Arthur laughed after he was done.  
  
"Aside from this, my lord," Kage said, still kneeling, "there are some matters that I need to discuss with you, I have informed you about them before but now it seems the events are finally unfolding."  
  
The king's expression became more serious. "Yes, of course." As he spoke he somber attitude returned to his lighter smile. "But that will to wait until later for today is packed with too much fun!! Before anything is done though, we better go to my quarters. This hallway seems to be growing quite small."  
  
Before anyone could move the king changed his mind. "On second thought why don't we move this to the Dining Hall. My niece should be coming shortly and I think it would be a fine place for a reunion."  
  
Vyse looked confused. "You never told me you had a niece. Is she coming her alone?"  
  
The king shook his head like Vyse had lost him mind. "Heavens, no! Of course not! A Holy Knight in accompanying her, I wanted to send one of my own men but she insisted for her to come. Now let us hurry to the Dining Hall before they arrive!" He said, shoving everyone out of the hall.  
  
~**~  
  
Tera and Bridget walked into the castle and were greeted by a man dressed in very formal clothes.  
  
He turned to Tera and said. "His highness requests your presence in the Dining Hall."  
  
"Very well, can you take us there?"  
  
The man nodded his head. "Of course, M'lady."  
  
~**~  
  
Bridget entered the room and had to shut her eyes. There were many large windows that beamed in the light of the sun and spread it over everything on the large table. She followed Tera over to King Arthur. She dropped to one knee and greeted him. "Good day, my king."  
  
"Good day, Lady Bridget. I hope your trip here with Tera was enjoyable."  
  
"Yes, quite splendid."  
  
Tera nodded in agreement. "Oh yes it was-"  
  
She stopped in mid-sentence, Bridget turned in the direction Tera was facing. She was staring at some young man in a black cloak. Bridget didn't know why this boy startled Tera so bad. Was this that Nite fellow she was talking about?  
  
~**~  
  
Tera was stunned by what she saw. That boy in black she met two times before was sitting in her uncle's dining room! But how? How did he get here? Why was he here to begin with? What business did he have with her uncle? Her face started to burn, she sat down hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, her uncle did. "Are you ok?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need some water, that's all."  
  
Arthur snapped his fingers. "William! Go fetch some water for my niece."  
  
William was out the door before Arthur could finish his sentence.  
  
~**~  
  
K.C. shot out of her chair, looking at Tera. "I knew I knew you!"  
  
Everyone looked at K.C. like she grew an extra head. She soon explained.  
  
"Since my dad is her uncle that makes us cousins!!" Her shrill voice filled the room. Her explanation didn't really say how she knew her, either but K.C. didn't care, now she had a cousin to do cool cousin things with!! This would be so fun!  
  
~**~  
  
This was weird. So far Nite had come in contact with ever person in this room within the past three days. First that kid in the black cape ran into him in Bemic then that knight asks about a girl she had lost. The same girl whose window he jumped from. Then it moves to Kage and their fight to Vyse and THEIR fight. The only person he hadn't met before was the odd girl jumping around the room. But she was tangled up to a whole other web of connections. She's related to Window Girl, she knows Vyse, which in turn must mean she knows Kage as well. She was probably traveling with Lost- pouch Boy since they were in the same room when he found them and since the girl with the window was with that knight, she must've known her too. Nite's final deduction was that everyone in this room had met another at some time and place within the last three days. This was weird.  
  
~**~  
  
Claire looked around the room, there where exactly nine people in this room, including Nite and herself. She didn't feel edgy around any of them, though...Well maybe with the exception of Vyse. There was something odd about that man. That went for the guy in the green armor, Kage. She could tell from what he said to the king that his intentions where deeper then what he lead on. Nonetheless she didn't let that get to her. If Nite could have an always calm attitude of indifference, why couldn't she?  
  
~**~  
  
Kage was the first to actually say something after K.C.'s awkward revelation. "What did you mean by today will be packed with fun?" Odd question but at least it broke the silence.  
  
The king looked quite relived that someone finally spoke up. "Well first we are going to have our annual Mage Festival followed by a marvelous party lasting as long as the guests can stay awake!"  
  
Some of Arthur's servants applauded and shouted at the plan for the day.  
  
"I am terribly sorry we are sitting at this beautiful table with no food on it, but the festival is about to begin and we honestly don't have enough time to eat! I surely hope this does not hamper your day." The king said with responses of "no" and "of course not" filling the large room.  
  
"Great! Well let us head hurry to the Theater District and enjoy the Festival!!" He said, encouraging his guests to follow him.  
  
~**~  
  
Ked walked up to Tera and asked what a Mage Festival was.  
  
"Its something my uncle created about three years ago where mages of all kinds come and show off their talents. From what I've heard it's mostly made up of Black Mages."  
  
Ked smiled. "Hey do you think I can be in it?"  
  
"Sure, I don't see any reason you couldn't. The first half is just Mages from off the street showing their magic to the crowds. The second half is going to be an extravagant performance made up of from the best of the best." Tera paused when an interesting idea crossed her mind. "Hey there's going to be a very powerful Sage in the performance, he also happens to be my uncle's oldest friends. Maybe I can ask my him to make a meeting for you and the Sage."  
  
Ked scratched his head then asked what a Sage was.  
  
"It's the higher level of a Red Mage, only Sage's rely fully on their White and Black magic, leaving their sword skill to wither."  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
"Hmmm, I don't remember. All I know is that he's my uncle's oldest friend. We'll find out eventually."  
  
Ked wondered if this Sage was the same one his grandfather was talking about, he guessed he would find out soon enough.  
  
The group soon reached the middle of the Theater District where Arthur would make his annual speech and start off the festival.  
  
"Hello one and all!" King Arthur said to the large crowd before him. "Welcome to my Third Annual Mage Festival! This is the one day of the year where Mages of all types come and show off their impressive talents!"  
  
The crowd cheered as he paused, after they settled down he went on. "And please don't forget about the breath taking show later in the day. Which will be followed by a feast at the castle!!"  
  
The people cheered even louder when they heard about the feast.  
  
"Now I think I have talked enough so enjoy yourselves and let the festival begin!!"  
  
People cheered, applauded and threw their hats into the air, signaling that the festival had truly begun. 


	18. The festivities begin

Author's note: Hey y'all!! This is a shorty right here but I was really pressed on time for this one. I've been on the computer typing since I got home from school.It's like 9:30 right now....My fingers are KILLING me! Ok, I think the chapter was decent enough, you get to see Vyse show off a bit of his strength and Ked pull of a pretty nice trick. Ah and if you're asking if my next chapter will be short....Then that's a big no since I THINK my next one is going to be the chapter right before my epic battle. If it is, then I'm going to squeeze like ten pages of stuff into my next one so it doesn't interfere with my fight....  
  
Well, this A/N is going to be short. My brain it too fried to think of ANYTHING decent to day.  
  
"Good reading equals good times." I'm out.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Nite stopped clapping his hands and nudged himself away from the crowd. After getting away, he looked around, seeing his sister standing right next to him, smiling. He ignored the fact that she just appeared next to him, she just did that naturally. Instead he commented on her smile. "How come you only do that around me?"  
  
"You are the only person I feel comfortable around."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose that might be the reason. Anyways, let's go find something to eat. They're always selling unhealthy crap at these kind of things."  
  
Claire laughed then agreed to go with him to get something to eat. "I can't promise I'll stay for the whole meal, though."  
  
Nite looked at her. "Why?"  
  
"Too many people. Makes me feel edgy."  
  
Nite sighed. "You're going to have to snap out of that sooner or later."  
  
Claire looked down at her feet and said. "I know not to be so anxious around people, I know they're not out to get me....It's just...."  
  
Her voice trailed off. Nite walked up to his sister and put his arms around her. "Hey don't worry about it. Getting over this problem shouldn't be that hard for you. Besides, you're my little sister. Do what I do and you'll be fine." He said, playfully bopping her on the head.  
  
Claire rubbed her forehead. "I'm not five anymore, you know." She stated, causing Nite to laugh, which in turn made her start to laugh.  
  
"Alright, let's go get something to eat." Nite said, walking off.  
  
"Oh, oh! Wait for me, Big Brother!" Claire yelled sarcastically was she followed Nite.  
  
~**~  
  
Vyse got away from the crowd and went on a search for Kage. He walked off to some quiet part of the District and sure enough, there was Kage. It was so easy to know where he would be.  
  
"Hey, Kage! What's up?"  
  
"I'm going to go talk to the king."  
  
"But you'll miss the festival!"  
  
Kage shrugged. "I don't enjoy festivals that much, anyways."  
  
He started to walk away from Vyse.  
  
"Ok fine, go then! I don't need you to have fun anyhow!" Vyse yelled to his partner.  
  
Kage just ignored him and kept walking until he was out of sight. Vyse sighed and looked around now noticing how many Black Mages there were in this place. He guessed it was probably because Black Mages are the only type with flashy spells.  
  
He also noticed people in shacks offering people to test their luck at different games. Vyse laughed, even in a festival devoted to Mages, people still tried to make money from crooked games. "Might as well try one." He thought to himself.  
  
He walked up to one shack with a sign that read. "Test your strength! Ten Gil a turn!"  
  
Vyse pulled out Ten Gil and asked what he had to do.  
  
"It's quite easy, good sir," the man running the game said, "just hit that red circle on the steel pole there. A ball will come from the circle and climb up that there pole, if it hits the bell on top, you win!"  
  
Vyse walked over to the pole. It was a thick ten-foot high tower of steel. The circle the man talked about was vertically attached to the beam so he would have to throw his hand straight out to be able to hit it. Piece of cake.  
  
Vyse winded his right arm back, concentrating energy into his fist. He felt it bulge and pulse with power. After a quick collecting of the energy he hauled off and smacked the circle with all his might. The metal ball inside screamed up towards the bell, popping it off the pole and continued it's course into the air. Everyone around Vyse stared in aw as the bell hit the ground with a loud 'CLANG!'  
  
"Hmm, that was actually pretty fun." Vyse said to the man.  
  
While Vyse walked away he heard the ten-foot pole tip and crash to the ground. God, he loved doing that.  
  
~**~  
  
"Ok, Ked. Sorry to keep you waiting." Said the man who was in charge of keeping everything in this festival organized.  
  
K.C. was able to talk Tera into letting her and Ked go off and find a place for Ked to show off some of his tricks. Now they just had to wait for the guy to get them ready.  
  
"Ok, here's a stand for you to use if you need it." The mad added, looking over some papers that were handed to him.  
  
Ked said thank you but doubted the man heard. K.C. took it upon herself to set up the stand. "Alright, Ked. Now I told Tera that we would be able to do this on our own. Let's hope I was right."  
  
Ked laughed nervously but K.C. didn't notice. She was too busy thinking up ways to attract a big crowd. It then hit her.  
  
She stood up on the stand and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Attention everybody!! Come and see the most super, cool, and totally awesome thing you've ever seen in your entire life! My friend Ked can do things NO other Black Mage can! But I won't tell you what they are! You'll just have to come here and see for yourself!"  
  
Ked started to blush, he didn't know anything out of the ordinary to do. Except.....  
  
People who heard K.C. huddled around the stand. When they saw it was only a kid some of them left, but others that were amused by K.C.'s speech stayed.  
  
"Ok, Ked. I roped them in now you blow them away! Oh....But not literally." K.C. whispered to her friend.  
  
Ked took in a long breath then released it. This was probably the ONLY time he wished his powers didn't get out of hand. Ked concentrated as hard as he could, he could pull this off if he just tried. He placed his hands out, palms open, at the table, slowly waving them in opposite directions so they crossed in the middle of him.  
  
A dot of fire appeared in the middle of the table, then rolled from the back of the table to the front near the crowd leaving a line of flames in its path. So far so good. Ked's eyes were closed as he moved the ball then as it reached the front he opened them and sent a surge of energy into the small ball causing it to shoot up into the air in a tiny explosion. Some people jumped back, not wounded, in fact pleasantly amused at what was now standing on a neat little row on the table. Four fiery stick figures with electrified top hats and canes. The crowed awed and appalled at the cute little figures....But Ked wasn't done yet. He moved his hands in a rhythmic pattern, like beats to a song. To the crowd's surprise the tiny stick people started to dance to the beat of Ked's hands! Their aww's turned to cheers as Ked went on. The figures started to do the Waltz, two-step, and any other dance Ked could think of. It was so amazing to watch the people made of elements dance with as much strength and passion as any living human. Finally after about five minutes of the best dancing anyone has ever seen, the stick figures threw their canes in the air, caught them, and bowed.  
  
The crowd was cheering and clapping, yelling for Ked to give them more. The people around Ked seemed to be making more noise then any other group in the area. The crowd itself was also much larger. Even K.C. wanted to see what else Ked might have up his sleeve. Ked grinned from ear to ear. Now was the first time he ever felt so wanted, so needed by so many people. It was such a rush to feel the emotions, he loved it more then anything. Little did he know that soon enough, he WOULD be needed.....But not for his cute little stick people.  
  
~**~  
  
"Bridget do you think it was right leaving Ked and K.C. by themselves?" Tera asked the knight next to her.  
  
"You're the one who said they could run off."  
  
Tera Sighed. "Good point."  
  
Bridget looked at Tera. "Did you tell them to run off so you could talk to me alone? Is it about that Nite boy?"  
  
Nuts, Bridget could read Tera like a book. She started to blush. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I mean I've seen millions of guys his type and they all turned out to be just annoying....But there's something him that I can't figure out."  
  
"So you're drawn to his mystery?"  
  
"No, not drawn!" Tera snapped....Easing up again. "Just.....Interested...."  
  
Bridget laughed. "Well, I'm going to go check on Ked and K.C.. You should go and find Nite to unravel this mystery around him...Who knows, maybe he'll turn out to be as annoying as the rest."  
  
"Ok, I guess I'll go and find him, then. Nothing better to do..."  
  
Bridget waved goodbye as she disappeared into the crowd. Tera turned the other way and started looking for Nite.  
  
~**~  
  
"Wow, that was the most delicious and most unhealthy thing I have ever had." Nite said, throwing the little food that was left into the trash.  
  
"Agreed." Claire calmly stated.  
  
"Indeed...." Nite said, mocking her monotone expression.  
  
"Hey, I'm sorry but that's the way I talk!" She yelled at him, slapping him in the arm.  
  
"Yeah, I know but it just sounded funny."  
  
Nite started to mockingly rub the fake pain from his shoulder.  
  
"That was all fine and great but I'm going to go find someplace quite, alright?"  
  
"You want me to go with you?"  
  
"No, it's ok. You go have fun."  
  
"Alright.But I doubt I'll have any fun without you."  
  
Nite turned around as he started talking, waiting for Claire's response. When she didn't answer he turned back around. Claire was gone. Nite smiled and crossed his hands. "Nice job, Sis....Now you're getting fast enough to even evade the glance of my eye...."  
  
Nite started to slowly walk off looking for something to do. 


	19. Ramza the Time mage and Trikal the Thief

Author's note" Hello again! First thing I want to say before I mention anything is that the two new people in my story name's are Ramza and Trikal. If you ever played FFT then you know where I got Ramza from but I wanted to mention Trikal's name because everyone seems to say it wrong. It's pronounced "Try-kul" if anyone pronounces it "trickle" Then I swear that I'll beat you senseless with a rubber club covered in flaming snow.....Doesn't sound harmful (or like it could exist) but it is! (And does!) You've been warned.....  
  
OH MY GOD!! My epic battle starts on the next chapter!! Ok, well it's official I have some work to do. Now don't expect updates on this for a long LONG time.Maybe a week at max. I need to get this thing just right. In fact, I need it to be perfect. It's the first of my epic battles so it has to be good.  
  
Also, as I post each chapter of my epic battle there will be NO A/Ns in them. I don't want my nonsenses rants to take away from the story. Ok, that's all I have, be back when I have something truly worth reading.  
  
Oh! And some pieces are starting to fall into place....Some things that didn't really have anything to do with each other now have one thing in common, It's pretty easy to find if you just pay attention. Find it and a cookie shall be thine reward.  
  
Ah and yeah....Don't worry about my OS fic. That SHOULD be updating on it's normal routine.  
  
Oh and I know this is a day late. I typed it out yesterday, saved it to my file, left to go do something, and forgot about it. Anyways, my OS update is on this one's heels....  
  
"Good reading equals good times." I'm out  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Nite went back to the table he and Claire were at and sat down, sipping down the last of his water. As he sat there, he was startled as something touched his shoulder. He stood up and turned around to see what it was. Standing next to him was the blonde hair girl from before, Tera if his memory was correct.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" She asked after seeing him jump up.  
  
Nite laughed. "Well it seems our paths not only cross but intertwine. Want to have a seat?"  
  
Tera nodded and sat next to him. "So what are you up to?"  
  
"Nothing really, my sister just left and now I have nothing to do."  
  
"That girl with the sword hanging from her shoulder was your sister? Don't you think it's kind of odd that she carries that thing around with her all the time?"  
  
Nite grinned. "Not at all, I do the same thing."  
  
He lifted up his cloak , revealing the concealed katana underneath it.  
  
"Ohhh...." Tera said, slightly blushing from embarrassment.  
  
Nite laughed again. "Don't worry, it's no big deal."  
  
Tera smiled then changed the subject. "So you want to go do something?"  
  
"With you?"  
  
Nite immediately knew that answer came out wrong. Tera slumped down in her chair as Nite quickly jumped up and started correcting his mistake.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean that!" He told her while taking her hand and picking her up off her seat. "What I meant to say was that I would love to do something with you. Did that sound better?"  
  
Tera slightly giggled. "Yes it did, nice recovery. I give it a seven and a half."  
  
Nite scratched his head. "Huh?"  
  
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Let's just go." She said, taking him by the arm and pulling him off to the games that were set up around the festival.  
  
~**~  
  
While Vyse was wondering around he saw two people putting on a mini performance. He walked over to see what was going on.  
  
"Hello one and all! I am the great Ramza and to my right is my faithful friend and companion Trikal!" A man said to the audience.  
  
Ramza seemed to have a flair to him, something that naturally collected a crowd. He was wearing a light blue, nicely designed silk shirt with matching pants, only matched by his well kept brown hair and deeply gazing brown eyes. Maybe that's what caught people's attention. Or maybe it was the tone of his voice, like the ringing of bell, saying to come and see their magnificence. No, it could have been his attitude upon the stage, active and lively, never at a lost of words.  
  
But his partner, this Trikal. He was different. Clothing himself in ripped up, faded, and loosely fitting studded leather. He was a quite one, as if he had something to hide. His dark brown hair stretched out in all directions in long, large clumps as a good portion of his bangs fell in front of the right side of his face. His blue eyes had the gaze of mystery to them, they held many feelings in them, most of the fear of being caught, the rest being the boastful ego of still being loose in the world. The only thing they may have persuaded people to think he wasn't some kind of cold- hearted killer was the sly grin on his face. Even though it was small, it still was there. The smile of a smooth talker, knowing what to say to get out of any situation. Looking closer to the group it was almost like Ramza looked like what Trikal felt. This combo was surely something that should be watched with a close eye as their kind appearance was ONLY skin deep....  
  
"Today we will show you the wonderful tricks that can be used with Time Magic!" Ramza said as the crowed 'oooed'  
  
"Now for our first trick. I will teleport a red ball from my palm to the hat in Trikal's hand!"  
  
Trikal showed the hat to the audience so they knew nothing was in it.  
  
"Now watch and be amazed!" Ramza taking the ball and putting it in his right hand. He raised his left hand and cupped it over the other so the ball was now hidden from view. There was a small pause as Ramza's hands seemed to sway from left to right....But they weren't really moving. It was like there was some kind of aura surrounding them. A second later he lifted his hand up and the ball was gone.  
  
Ramza asked Trikal to show the people his hat, he silently agreed and pointed out the same red ball that was now sitting neatly in the center. There was a small round of applause but nothing big. All they did was just move a ball.  
  
Ramza was about to start another trick but and now a worried looking Trikal had to whisper something in his ear.  
  
Ramza looked at Trikal, now just as worried. "Are you serious?"  
  
Trikal nodded.  
  
"Wow, they caught on quicker then we thought....."  
  
He turned his attention back to the crowd. "Um.....I'm terrible sorry ladies and gentlemen but something has arisen and we must cut right to the final act. Once again, I am truly sorry we couldn't show you more."  
  
The crowed was torn between boos and cheers. The boos since it ended so quickly and the cheers for....Well for the same reason....  
  
"Now if you would all just please get as close to the stage as possible we'll perform our last trick."  
  
Everyone walked up to the stage at Ramza's request. Well, everyone except Vyse.  
  
"You too, sir." Ramza said to him.  
  
"No, I'm fine right here thank you."  
  
Ramza glared at Vyse but only for a small moment. His tiny moment of anger went back to his cheerful nature. "Ok, that's fine too."  
  
He turned back to the audience once again. "Ok, just concentrate on my hands and you'll be amazed..."  
  
He drew a circle in the air with his right hand then ran his left one across the center. Next he cupped his hands together like before, causing the waves that had been there before to grow and spread around the crowd. The waves soon covered everyone but Vyse, he was far enough away to not be in it's radius. The waves started to do to the people what they had done to his hands, they became wavy and distorted. The blurred images made Vyse start to blink. The second he did everything disappeared. The people, the stage, the performers. Everything.  
  
Vyse didn't know what was going, how could they be there one second and not the next....But that was just it, they were barely gone for that one second. Within the same moment that everything disappeared, they reappeared. Like they never left to begin with.  
  
The people looked around at each other, just as confused as Vyse.  
  
"Well I guess my trick didn't work, oh well better luck next time, huh?" Ramza began to say to the audience while he and Trikal picked up bags that Vyse had never seen until this moment and run off. Moving unusually fast.  
  
Men in uniforms were chasing after the two as quickly as possible.  
  
"Catch them!" One started to yell. "Those two are the Time Bandits! We've been after them forever! Get them! Now!!"  
  
Vyse laughed....He knew he had seen those two before. His conclusions about them having something to hide was pretty accurate too. He started to walk away from the crowd just as they started to complain that all their Gil and other valuable were missing. Man, a Time Mage and a Thief. What a perfect combo....  
  
~**~  
  
"Hey, how are you two doing?" Bridget asked Ked and K.C. when she finally found them.  
  
"Pretty good!" K.C. answered. "We were just cleaning up, getting ready to head over to the performances and get some get some good seats. You want to come with us a grab a seat, too?"  
  
Bridget nodded her head. "Sure, I might as well."  
  
K.C. smiled. "Ok, great! Follow me!"  
  
K.C. started to run off to the main stage, which wasn't that far away to begin with. After the quick little walk to the stage, Bridget saw the man who was traveling with Nite. K.C. spotted him, too.  
  
"Hey, it's Vyse! Let's go say hi!!" She didn't wait for Bridget to agree, she was already pulling her and Ked in his direction.  
  
"Hiya, Vyse! K.C. yelled to him.  
  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't little K.C. Nice to see you here.  
  
"Tsh, it's nice to see me anywhere....Anyways, this is Bridget. Say hi Bridgy!"  
  
Bridget laughed a bit, then introduced herself. "Hello, Vyse."  
  
"Hello to you too, Miss 'Bridgy.'" He sly-fully said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.  
  
K.C. put an end to that pretty quick. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Enough of THAT!" K.C. even went as far as to push herself between the two so further actions wouldn't take place. Vyse and Bridget simply laughed as K.C. started to grumble.  
  
"C'mon, Ked....Let's just go find some seats."  
  
Ked agreed to her request and soon enough they were off to find the best seats possible.  
  
"She's defiantly a rambunctious little girl..." Vyse said to Bridget. "So what are you going to be doing after Tera gets done talking to the king?"  
  
"I'm going to take her back to Tilandros so she can get back to what she needs to be doing."  
  
"You know there's going to be a lot of stress on her when she returns? She's got a lot to do if she thinks she can properly rule such a large kingdom like Tilandros as their Queen at such a young age."  
  
"Yes, I agree. But that's why she came here. To get some advice from a reliable source."  
  
"Hmm, that's true....But still, Tilandros is a big place, if she cracks under the pressure then the people of the kingdom will suffer greatly. 'To bring salvation or destruction to a kingdom, thus if the duty of royalty.'"  
  
"That quote you just said. Who's it from?"  
  
"Me, I suppose. Just made it up....Thought it fit the conversation perfectly....Well, I'm out of here. Hope you and Tera have a good life."  
  
"Ok, good bye then....And thank you for this talk."  
  
"Heh, not a problem. It is my job as an advisor to help people, after all."  
  
After said, Vyse walked off allowing Bridget to soak in everything that was just said.  
  
~**~  
  
"Alright, now what do we do?" Nite asked Tera, after finding some ball under some cup for the fifth time in a row.  
  
"Hmmm, well so far you've played two games but I did three so you have to do one more before we stop."  
  
Nite wanted to argue that getting your height and weight guessed by some bald guy was not an official game but he let it slid.  
  
"Ok, have any suggestions on what to do next?" He asked, crossing his arms.  
  
Tera looked around. "Hmm.Oh hey, how about that one over there?"  
  
She pointed at the stand opposite of them.  
  
"Ok, sure. Let's go see what it's about."  
  
They walked up and read the sign, is said. "Test your aim! Try to hit the small red target!"  
  
"How much?" Nite asked the man behind the counter.  
  
"fifteen Gil for three shots."  
  
Nite gave him the money and took the three balls. He grabbed the first one and threw it at the target. The ball went speeding way off to the far right, completely missing the target by miles. Everyone around Nite started to laugh at the horrible show.  
  
"Hey, maybe you should aim a little bit to the left." The man behind the counter told him.  
  
Nite shook his head then picked up another ball, throwing it to the left....Far, FAR to the left, still no where near the target. People were now laughing so hard that some were even on the ground. Even Tera started to giggle at his horrible aim.  
  
"Heh, how about you just close your eyes this time?" The man said, still laughing.  
  
Nite shrugged and did just that. He picked up the last ball, closed his eyes, and threw it hard and fast right out the target, hitting it dead on. Nite was the only one laughing now, everyone else was too busy picking there jaws up off the ground.  
  
"Wow, guess that helped after all. Thanks for the advise." Nite said as he walked away.  
  
"How did you do that?" Tera asked after catching up with him.  
  
"Well first off, I missed my first two so my last one would look better and hitting the target on the last throw was sheer luck."  
  
Tera grinned and shook her head. "You know how to work a crowd, don't you?"  
  
Nite shrugged. "Yeah, guess I do."  
  
Soon enough they both ended up at the same bench they were at before they left.  
  
"So where are you going after this festival thing?" Nite asked her.  
  
"Back to Tilandros, I suppose."  
  
Nite raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you live in Tilandros? That's a pretty swanky place."  
  
Tera smiled. "I more then just live there, I'm the queen."  
  
Nite almost fell off his chair. "You're the queen?! Really?! But you're so young!  
  
"Yeah, I know....I know.....But my mother died when I was very young then my father passed away about a year ago. Since I have no siblings I had to take full control of Tilandros."  
  
"Wow....So how do you like being the queen?"  
  
"Heh, I don't. That responsibility is insane. I didn't know what to do so I came here to talk with my uncle about how to control such a large place with so many people that depend solely on you."  
  
"So who's ruling while you're here?"  
  
"Some Regent named Kedro. I haven't really gotten to know him that well."  
  
Nite scratched his head. "So why don't you just let him rule permanently so you don't have to deal with the pressure?"  
  
She sighed. "I would love to but the people say that they would much rather have me then some no-name Regent."  
  
"Wow, sure sounds like a tough life."  
  
"Yeah, it is...."  
  
After a small moment of silence Nite told her that she better go off and find that knight. He himself started to get up and leave.  
  
"Guess I should.....Oh hey, do you think you would like to come sit with us when the show starts?" She asked, hoping he would say yes.  
  
"Na, I'm going to be in the back, if I even decide to watch it. I might go find my sister and see what she's up to."  
  
Tera stood up just as Nite did. "Well, I certainly had fun. Thank you for the pleasant evening." She said to him.  
  
"I had a good time too. Well, guess I'll see you around."  
  
"Yeah....See you around, Nite." Tera sounded a bit saddened but Nite didn't notice, he was already off looking for Claire.  
  
~**~  
  
Ok, Kage. I'll see what I can do," King Arthur said to the Dragoon, "but I can't promise anything."  
  
Kage shook his head. "Do not concern yourself. Your help is welcomed but not needed."  
  
The king sighed. "But I will still help you to the best of my ability. I can't have that man cause any trouble to my dear niece."  
  
"Sire, if his plans succeed, Tera is not the only person we should be worrying about."  
  
One of Arthur's servants came out in and told him that the main performance was bout to begin.  
  
"Ok, I'll be there in a minute."  
  
The servant left and Arthur turned back to Kage. "Are you going to watch the show?"  
  
Kage shrugged. "Perhaps." He said, walking out of the room.  
  
Kaged walked out of the castle and headed to the edge of town, it was quiet....just the way he liked it. But as he stood there he noticed that something wasn't right.  
  
He tried to shake off the feeling but it just wouldn't leave. He heard a rustle in the bushes some yards away from him, his nervousness still running strong, he went to check it out.  
  
As he approached the bush a beast leaped from it without warning and tackled him to the ground. He was quick enough to get the base of his spear into the creature's jaw so it couldn't lock down on him. He quickly rolled to the right and forced the creature on it's back as he impaled his spear into it's head.  
  
Kage got up and looked at the beast. It wasn't a normal animal. It was shaped like some kind of wolf but was larger, and way more ugly....Then it came to Kage. This was a Coor, a Minion. Kage looked around and heard some growls and screeches from the forest in front of him. He heard many growls from the bushes. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. He could sense a large wave of Minions coming right out him. Now he knew it for sure.....The kingdom was under attacked. But how? Minions don't attack in large groups. No, it didn't matter right now, the king was in danger. He turned and ran as fast as he could to find the king and tell him about the ambush....Hopefully it wasn't too late. 


End file.
